Red
by elliefaucet
Summary: In a twist of fate, movie star Rachel Berry finds herself on an 11-hour flight to London next to possibly the only person who does not know her name. This leads to a birthday weekend full of magical adventures where anything is possible. AU.
1. The Lucky One

**Anyway, something you should know about this story: every single chapter revolves around a different song from Taylor Swift's Red. I started seeing a story when listening to Red, and I wanted to see if I could write it. So I did, and I'm very happy with it. The story, like the album, will contain 19 chapters. Though it's not necessary to listen to the song before/during reading of the chapter, I highly suggest it.**

**So without further ado, Red.**

* * *

**Ch. 1- The Lucky One**

_New to town with a made up name _

_In the angel city, chasing fortune and fame_

_And the camera flashes make it look like a dream._

The day started like every other day seemed to: alone. Rachel reflexively reached over to the other side of the bed to confirm her fear; it wasn't just a nightmare. She sighed and hit her alarm before sliding out of bed.

While waiting for the shower to heat up, she checked for messages on her phone. She smiled when she saw that there were none. The tabloids still hadn't found out about her breakup or her early filming break. No messages was good news.

The water was scalding hot by then—it didn't really take that long to heat up, but she was in the habit after years of shitty water systems in cold New York apartments—so she shed her clothes and stepped in, relishing in the heat as it burned her skin. She always hoped the pain would last long enough to distract her from her thoughts, but it never did. No matter how hot she got it, they would always come back.

It only lasted about a minute before her thoughts began to wander. She hoped that she wouldn't run into the paps at the airport, but knew these thoughts to be highly unlikely. Even if there weren't any following her, there were _always_ paps at LAX. They would ask questions about why she wasn't on set and where her boyfriend was, and she just wasn't ready to deal with any of that. Then they would find out where she was going because they _always_ found out, and she just wanted a bit of privacy for one weekend and and and…

She felt the tears well up in her eyes, but she willed them away. They couldn't see her with red eyes, that's for sure. Going to the airport with red eyes and a ticket to a far away destination just screamed trouble in paradise. Rachel needed to be able to talk about the breakup without bursting into tears before she publicly announced it. Her manager agreed. They would wait until after New Year's, which, by then, they hoped Rachel would be over it.

_You had it figured out since you were in school_

_Everybody loves pretty, everybody loves cool._

After her shower, she carefully applied her makeup. Two years ago she wouldn't have bothered with it before a long flight, but two years ago she was a nobody who didn't need to worry about her face ending up on the cover of a grocery store tabloid. Nowadays she had to be perfect wherever she went, which meant a good half hour was spent on perfecting her face.

Clothes came next. She had decided on business casual, black slacks with a crisp button down white shirt paired with a black blazer. When picking it out the night before, she thought that she might blend in with the many businessmen and women, and slip past the paps unnoticed; her normal attire consisted of extravagant dresses, after all. Even if they did end up recognizing her, they would think she was off on important business and not just taking a vacation. It was an added plus that she'd be more comfortable on the plane.

Breakfast would be skipped, as usual. She had neither the time nor ability to cook, and so she would just have to settle with the Starbucks her driver always had waiting when she got in the car. She picked up a granola bar from her highly unused kitchen as she passed through there. It would compliment her coffee, she knew from experience, and should tide her over until they served lunch on the plane. She put it in her purse to eat on the drive to the airport.

Rachel made sure to grab her keys when she got to the foyer. She didn't want a repeat of last time. No, she mustn't think of last time, not when she was about to have to appear cool and collected.

_Now it's big black cars and Riviera views_

_And your lover in the foyer doesn't even know you_

_And your secrets end up splashed on the news front page._

Her driver was waiting when she stepped outside. No one really needed a driver in Los Angeles, but _he_ had convinced her that she was the greatest star in the world and didn't need to drive. After they broke up, Rachel realized she had grown much too attached to her driver. With the way he knew her coffee order and how he was always there earlier than the time she told him because he knew she was always ready early, it was almost like having a real friend. Plus she never had to deal with the horrendous rush hour traffic.

"Ms Berry, can I take your—" he started when she approached the car.

Rachel brushed him off. "No need, Bradley. I can do this if you'll just pop the trunk."

He sighed and hit a button on the keys. Then Rachel proceeded to load her suitcase in the back, which was easier said than done when it was about as heavy as her. Bradley let her struggle for a minute before helping her lift it up.

"You're looking mighty smart today, Ms Berry," he commented while shutting the trunk. "I've never seen you in glasses. I like them."

"Thank you," she replied brightly, moving to get in the passenger's seat.

"Do you think they'll hide you from the paps?" he questioned, handing her her coffee before starting the car.

She took a sip before answering. "I can only hope."

They fell into silence on the way to the airport. Rachel tried to find a radio station, but she had never been very successful with that. They ended up listening to Barbra Streisand's Christmas album, which had been on repeat since the beginning of December. This was the last time she'd hear it in the car with Bradley, after all. The next time would be after Christmas, and she would need to find a new cd or settle with silence.

"So I hear your birthday is Sunday," Bradley started when they pulled into the airport.

"It is," she replied, looking out the window for any sign of a camera. So far so good.

"And you're going off alone?" he asked.

She nodded. "I am." Rachel glanced over at him. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but he held his tongue. That was another good thing about Bradley: he knew when to not overstep the line between friend and driver.

He put the car in park at the drop off section and quickly got out, obviously trying to get the suitcase before she could. Rachel smiled to herself at his kindness and went after him, letting him get the suitcase just this once.

"I could've gotten that, you know," she said when he appeared at her side, rolling suitcase in hand.

He grinned. "I know. Just thought I'd be nice. Now let's go get you checked in."

Rachel playfully rolled her eyes and followed along beside him.

The airport was moderately busy, which was to be expected on a weekday at LAX, especially so close to Christmas. She waited in line to check her bag with Bradley and everyone else. She didn't want to draw attention and skip to the front, because the paps would flock to it.

There was a small girl, probably around three or four, with what Rachel supposed was her mother, in front of them. The mother gripped the girl's hand tight, which probably meant the child was prone to exploring as Rachel used to when she was little. She remembered her dads, one or both, always keeping a good hold on her after the time she decided she wanted to see Santa one more time when they were in the mall. She couldn't remember this story, but they assured her it happened.

Rachel smiled as she watched the girl swing their arms, obviously wanting to play. Then, by chance, the girl looked behind her, directly at Rachel, almost as if she had sensed her watching. Her eyes widened and Rachel frowned slightly, knowing what was about to happen.

The girl whipped back around to her mother, blond hair flying. "Mommy mommy!" Rachel heard her whisper excitedly. "Princess Anna is behind us!"

The mother glanced back and met Rachel's eyes for a second. Her blue eyes echoed the tiredness that Rachel knew her own probably showed. No matter how good her show face, Rachel could never quite master the eyes. "So it is."

"Princess!" she shrieked, and Rachel knelt down to her level so as to hopefully avoid another outburst which would only lead to curious eyes and camera flashes.

"Hello," Rachel said. "What's your name?"

"Bella," she replied, her voice much quieter to Rachel's relief. "Why are you dressed like that, Princess? Where's your pretty dress?"

"I'm on a secret mission," Rachel answered, trying to get back into character from a movie three years ago. "So I have to dress like this and be very quiet."

"No singing?" Bella gasped.

Rachel nodded. "Especially no singing. Bella, can you help me by staying quiet?"

"Yes Princess! I'll do anything!" she whispered.

Rachel smiled at her before looking up at the mother. "Is there anything you want me to sign?"

She nodded and dug in Bella's backpack before pulling out a copy of the horrendous princess movie. "She was going to watch it on the plane for the millionth time."

Rachel immediately got out a sharpie from her purse. She made sure to sign in character, like she always did for this movie. Princess Anna's autograph was used almost as much as her own. "There you go."

"Thank you," Bella's mom said gratefully. "She'll be talking about this all week."

"Be a good girl for your mom, okay?" Rachel said, bending back down to Bella as the mother turned to check their luggage in.

"I will!" Then Bella was lunging for a hug, and Rachel hugged her back after a second of hesitation. It was her first hug in weeks.

The two left shortly after that. Rachel turned to Bradley as they stepped up. "I swear I get recognized for that princess movie ten times more than the one I won an Oscar for."

"And you're complaining about that?" he asked while setting her suitcase on the counter.

She shook her head. "Not at all. Just stating a fact."

"Well, this is where I leave you," Bradley said when they finished at the check-in desk.

"Have a good Christmas," she said, not really ready to say goodbye.

"You too, Ms Berry," he replied. "Let me know when your return flight is."

"I will," she promised, and then he was walking away and she had to go on. She sighed and forced her feet to move.

_And they tell you that you're lucky_

_But you're so confused_

_Cause you don't feel pretty, you just feel used._

Bella and her mom really brought about feelings Rachel had been trying to ignore for quite some time. She wanted a family. Bella's mother looked about her age, and she already had a child; Rachel wasn't even close to that. She didn't have a boyfriend, much less a husband to have a family with. All she had was her job, which was becoming more of a chore every day.

She was so distracted by this that she didn't even notice the paparazzi until the first flash went off.

Rachel was sure the first one would have her "deer in the headlights" look. She quickly put on her best show face, and continued through security as she had been doing. Except now she had the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

The whispers started, and Rachel kept hearing "Oscar" and Emmy" being thrown around with her name. Soon enough, the security line turned into an autograph line, halting progress.

She really didn't want to hold up the line, but she also knew that if she refused even one autograph, the tabloids and gossip blogs would call her a heartless bitch. So Rachel tried her best to move along while still signing. With the cameras flashing, she felt more like a face character at Disneyland than a real person. Couldn't they just leave her alone?

Rachel made her escape after fully getting through security, citing that she was going to miss her flight if she didn't go right now. In reality, she had allotted plenty of time for something like this. She just had to go before they started asking questions.

When she reached her gate, she found that they weren't going to start boarding for ten minutes. To keep from having another autograph session, she found the nearest bathroom and waited her time in a stall. She could've just went to one of the airline clubs, but she needed this last little bit of privacy before having to spend the next twelve hours surrounded by people on a plane where they were more than likely playing one of her movies.

Being famous wasn't everything, and as Rachel stared at the stall door, she realized she should have thought a bit harder about her life choices on career day in high school.

_Another name goes up in lights_

_You wonder if you'll make it out alive._


	2. Sad Beautiful Tragic

**Ch. 2- Sad Beautiful Tragic**

_In dreams I meet you in warm conversation_

_We both wake in lonely beds, different cities._

The day started like every other day seemed to: wrapped in the arms of some random girl she picked up the night before. Though it helped a bit, she couldn't escape the feeling of loneliness that had been a constant in her life for a year.

Quinn sighed and shoved the feelings aside. Feelings did nothing but cause pain. She would have to try harder to not let them slip up on her again.

She looked over at the girl tangled up with her. Quinn wasn't real sure about her name (Lex? Liz? Luce?), but she was very pretty, with brown eyes and matching hair, she almost looked like _her_. Not to mention she was very easy to seduce. Quinn loved visiting America. The girls all fell in love with her accent, which she had picked up after years of living abroad.

Quinn almost felt sorry for her, but that would require feeling.

_And time is taking its sweet time erasing you_

_And you've got your demons, and, darling, they all look like me._

Carefully, Quinn extracted herself from the arms and legs of the girl in her bed. She had just glanced at the clock and realized she really needed to get up if she wanted to catch her flight. Not to mention she needed to sneak out before her bed partner woke up.

She picked up her jeans from last night and the last pair of underwear from her bag. It took a minute to find her bra, having been thrown across the room last night. She was out of shirts, so she snuck down to Frannie's room and stole one of hers. It was a risk, but she was confident in Frannie's ability to sleep through anything.

A shower was a necessity she could not avoid. It might wake someone up that she didn't want to speak to, but she really didn't want to spend twelve hours on a plane while smelling like sex. So she took another risk. Quinn was something of a risk taker, especially when she didn't have anything to lose. And she never had anything to lose. Not anymore.

'_Cause we had a beautiful magic love there_

_What a sad beautiful tragic love affair._

Luckily, it seemed like the girl whose name she could not remember was as heavy a sleeper as Frannie. Quinn was able to take a quick shower and pack her clothes that were strewn all around the room without waking her up. To her, this was a win. Frannie would have to deal with the girl, and not her.

Grabbing her ticket from the desk, she slipped her duffle over her shoulder and quietly made her way out of the room. She was going to make it. She could see the door out.

Quinn was so focused on the door that she didn't notice the person in the kitchen.

"You're not seriously doing this, are you?" Quinn froze and looked to the right to see the person she had missed in the corner of her eye. Frannie, looking highly amused, hopped down from her seat on the counter and continued. "Not saying goodbye, I can understand. You've never been one for goodbyes. But you can't just leave a girl in my spare bedroom."

"I thought you might want her," Quinn quipped. "She has a thing for hot blondes."

Frannie rolled her eyes. "Please, Quinn. I don't need your sloppy seconds."

"But she's really good in bed," she added. "Well, _any_ girl is good in bed compared to the people you sleep with."

Frannie held up her hand to stop her. Quinn smirked. "Hey, I don't comment on your sexuality, so you don't comment on mine." It was an agreement they made long ago.

Quinn put her hands up in surrender. "All I'll say then is that you could easily have any girl you want. They go for the whole innocent vibe you've got going on."

Frannie snorted. She was hardly innocent at the moment, Quinn had to admit. Her short shorts and tight tank top that clung to her body didn't really scream, "Come to church with me Sunday!" like every outfit that she wore out of the apartment. Her long blonde hair that was mussed up from sleep didn't help either. To others it may look like she had just come from wild sex, but Quinn knew better. Her hair was probably from trying to find some sleeping position where she wouldn't hear the screams of Quinn's bed partner. God, that girl could scream.

"Okay, so maybe you don't look innocent _now_," Quinn stated. "But normally you look like the poster child for some church."

"I know," Frannie whined. "Guys think I'm a prude. But if I dress even a little bit more provocatively, I'm a slut."

"Well trust me, girls aren't that judging." Frannie gave her a look, and Quinn corrected herself. "Well they are because they're _girls_, but they know what it's like. And lesbians love to go after the innocent straight girls. I mean, think about me before I dated She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I was exactly like you."

This was true. Frannie was Quinn's older twin in looks. It wasn't until _she _came along and convinced Quinn to get a short haircut and clothes that reflected her lifestyle better that they began to differ.

Frannie laughed. "I still can't believe there was a time you thought you were straight. You're about as gay as they come."

"Obviously you've never been to a pride parade," Quinn muttered.

She giggled and then stopped as something hit her. "I'm you, pre-lesbian… Oh God, what if I _am_ gay?!"

It was Quinn's turn to laugh at the legitimate look of worry and panic on Frannie's face. "That's why I left you a girl in my bed: to experiment. Happy Christmas."

It almost worked. Quinn was almost out the door when Frannie stopped her. "Lucy Quinn Fabray you get that girl out of my apartment this instant. I am not a lesbian, and I am not cleaning up your messes."

Quinn spun around in shock. She could've sworn Judy Fabray was in the room and she had been transported back in time. But it was only Frannie. "You ruin all the fun, _Mom._"

Frannie's mouth dropped open. "I know you did not just compare me to our mother."

She shrugged. "You sounded enough like her."

"Get that girl out and then get on your damn plane," Frannie said stonily, only half-kidding.

Quinn chuckled as she walked back to the room she had occupied for the last week.

She hesitated at the door, not really sure what to do. She wasn't really practiced in the art of getting rid of one-night stands. "Hey," she called from her place in the doorway. "Wake up. I have to leave."

The girl did nothing except roll over in her sleep. Quinn sighed, knowing she was going to have to go in. She only hoped there weren't any sharp objects around. She didn't need to be stabbed by an angry girl. They might not let her on the flight if she was oozing blood.

She wondered what would happen if she just made a run for it. Frannie would probably drag her ass off the plane to get rid of the girl. Either that, or she would no longer be allowed to bring women home when she stayed with Frannie. Both weren't very desirable to Quinn, but then again neither was dealing with the person asleep in her bed.

Quinn sighed, knowing it would probably be best if she just pulled the Band-Aid off quick. She pulled the blinds up, exposing the room to the bright, never-ending Los Angeles sun. A groan was heard, and Quinn knew she was waking up.

"Okay," Quinn said again. "You need to leave. I have a flight to catch and my sister doesn't want you here."

There was another groan before the girl sat up. She had really bad bedhead, and where it had once been endearing on _her_, it wasn't on this girl. So Quinn didn't feel any guilt at all kicking her out.

She blinked, not entirely focusing on Quinn, probably because Quinn was still in front of the bright window.

"Did you hear me? You have to go. Right now," she stated when the girl hadn't made a move to get dressed.

"W-what about our date?" the girl questioned, clearly confused. "You said_—_"

"I know what I said," Quinn replied calmly. "And I lied. People do that."

"But- why?" Tears were forming in her eyes as she clutched the bedsheet around her. Quinn sighed in relief. She was one of the crying girls, not a psycho who would stalk her.

Quinn shrugged. "You're hot and I wanted to sleep with you. Is that a crime?"

The tears vanished and the anger appeared. She chucked a pillow at Quinn's head. Maybe Quinn called it too soon? Maybe this was a psycho? "Get out!"

Quinn quickly exited the room before the girl moved on to throwing more dangerous items, like knives, or books.

She was met with a smirking Frannie in the living room. "I'm guessing she didn't take your departure well?"

Quinn sighed, sitting down on the sofa next to Frannie. "Understatement of the year."

"What did you promise this one?" Frannie asked curiously.

She rubbed the back of her neck while in contemplation. "Well, I _think_ I promised her some kind of date, but I don't really remember?"

"Was the sex so mindblowingly good that it messed with your memory?"

This made Quinn laugh. "Not at all. The promises just all blend together nowadays."

"Maybe it's time you settled down?" Frannie suggested.

Quinn glared at her. "You know why I'm not doing that."

"Okay okay!" She held her hands up in surrender. "Just a suggestion!"

Before Quinn could respond, the girl stormed out of Quinn's room and headed straight for the door, giving the two of them a murderous glare as she passed them by.

"Quinn, that girl is going to kill me," Frannie deadpanned after the door slammed.

She laughed, standing up. It was time for her to take her leave. "Good luck."

"Why don't you just stay for Christmas? Protect me from her?" Frannie said lightly.

Quinn frowned. This was one of the subjects they didn't talk about. "I came before Christmas for a reason, Fran."

"They want to see you, Quinn. Just give them a chance again."

She snorted. "Yeah, like Dad wants to see me."

"Well, maybe not Dad, but Mom_—_"

Quinn shook her head, shouldering her duffle. "No. I don't want either of them in my life anymore. I barely want you in my life." She tried to make a joke to keep their conversation light, but it didn't work. The apartment was suffocating her, and she needed to get out. "See you around, Fran."

She sighed. "Goodbye, Quinn. Make sure to check both ways before walking out. That girl might be waiting with a knife."

This got her a grin from Quinn. "Will do."

It turns out the girl wasn't waiting with a knife. She was nowhere to be found, and thankfully hadn't slashed Quinn's tires before disappearing. This was a rental, and Quinn didn't want to be responsible for having to buy new tires; not again.

_Distance, timing, breakdown, fighting_

_Silence, this train runs off its tracks_

_Kiss me, try to fix it, could you just try to listen?_

_Hang up, give up, for the life of us we can't get back._

The trip to LAX was uneventful. She mindlessly drove, fiddling with the radio every once in a while but never really listening to anything. Everything on the radio these days was too happy. Christmas was a joyful season and so everything was happy, whether they were playing Christmas songs or top 40. Quinn couldn't stand it.

When she dropped off the car, she felt a bit sad. LA was the only place where she drove, and she always missed it when she left. Driving was one of the few things she missed about her hometown. Though she definitely wouldn't leave the city just to be able to drive again. There was nothing that could make her move back to Lima.

Check-in was a madhouse. Thankfully she didn't have to check any bags. She would've definitely missed her flight if she had to endure that line.

Security was even worse, and she couldn't skip that, no matter how light she packed. There were lots of paparazzi, which told Quinn one thing: there was some damn celebrity here. She _hated_ celebrities who felt the need to stop traffic. Sure, _they_ may be able to have security get them to their flight on time, but all the normal people were actually at a risk of missing their flights. A flight wouldn't be stopped unless you had an Oscar, which Quinn didn't.

She sighed impatiently. If she made it to her flight before the doors closed, it would be very close. God, she _hated_ LAX and its damn celebrities. She just wanted to go home.

"—won the Oscar this year, didn't she?" Quinn heard the tail end of a question from one of the people in front of her. She was right. It was a celebrity.

"She did," the woman in front of her confirmed. "And an Emmy." Great. It was an _award-winning_ celebrity. Quinn was never going to catch her flight.

"I hear she's fucking insane, though," the guy added.

"Yeah. My cousin worked with her on her first movie. Said she was a complete diva. What a shame."

He laughed. "What actresses aren't divas?"

"True."

"Still, she's hot."

No amount of hotness could convince Quinn to put up with a diva. She might be able to tolerate it for one night, but that was it. She tuned the rest of the conversation out as she waited for her turn.

She finally made it through security with twenty minutes until takeoff. She took off running for her gate, knowing that if the celebrity wasn't offering another autograph session in the middle of the airport, she might make it.

It was close, as she had predicted, but she did make it to the gate.

The attendant smiled a bit as she scanned Quinn's ticket. "Cutting it a little close, aren't you?"

"Can't help the fact that a damn celebrity decided to stop security," she replied lightly, taking her ticket back and entering the tunnel to board the plane.

As she was making her way there, she decided to look down at the ticket for the first time. Frannie had bought the return ticket, as was custom when one of them visited the other. So it was only then that she noticed that she was in first class. Damn. She would have to call Frannie later to thank her for the Christmas surprise.

She found her seat easy enough, and put her bag in the overhead compartment before collapsing in the seat with a sigh of relief. She was still a bit out of it from her mad dash across the airport.

"Damn celebrities," she muttered, mostly to herself.

"Excuse me?" a small voice asked, and it was only then that Quinn realized she was sitting beside someone. She glanced over to find a cute brunette looking at her with a frown. Quinn quickly sat up to make herself more presentable.

"Sorry. I almost missed my flight because of some celebrity," she explained. "You know how it is here. They think time just stops for them and don't bother worrying about the others who might be running a little late." Quinn was completely captured in how much this woman looked like _her_ that she didn't even bother to notice the frown deepening.

"And… do you know who it was?" she asked hesitantly.

Quinn shook her head. "Some girl who won an Oscar and an Emmy. I don't really keep up with too much American stuff anymore."

This brought about a smile from her. "Well, at least you made it. I'm Rachel, by the way."

Rachel held out her hand, which she shook. "Quinn."


	3. 22

**Ch. 3- 22**

The two became fast friends, as sometimes happens when you're stuck beside someone for hours upon hours with nothing to do. They never really talked much about themselves, for obvious reasons, but they kept finding something to talk about.

Rachel was happy that she had somehow managed to sit next to probably the one person at the airport who didn't know who she was. It was nice having a conversation with someone who didn't treat her differently; it hadn't happened in a long time. And for that person to not only be interesting and funny and charming, but insanely beautiful.

Well, happy early birthday to her.

All too soon, the 'fasten seatbelts' light came back on and she knew that it was about to be over. She would have to make a move before it was too late, or leave the airport without a lasting link to Quinn.

"Quinn?" Rachel said as she felt the plane hit the ground. Quinn had been staring out the window, watching their descent. The two had changed seats sometime during the flight because of Rachel's constant trips to the restroom.

"Hm?" she asked, looking away and back toward Rachel.

"I know we just met and you're probably very tired from all the traveling, but I'm not and so I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go get a drink or something after we get off this plane?" It all came out in a rush, and Rachel knew she was rambling just like she used to in high school. Most of the time, she could keep herself in check. Then there were those rare moments when she got so excited or nervous, or in this case both, that she would be reduced to a teenager again.

Quinn flashed her a smile, causing her stomach to flip. "I'd love that, actually. Do you have a place in mind… or I could recommend somewhere?"

She shook her head. "I'm not that familiar with London, or, well, any party scene. I've never been one to go out."

Quinn cocked an eyebrow. "Then why would you want to go now?"

"I guess with you I want to," Rachel stated, chancing a glance at Quinn's eyes.

_It feels like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters_

_And make fun of our exes_

_It feels like a perfect night for breakfast at midnight_

_To fall in love with strangers._

Quinn wasn't sure why they kept getting strange looks as they walked through the terminal, but she didn't let it bother her. She noticed it was, however, bothering Rachel. Rachel looked highly uncomfortable at the stares, so Quinn decided the best thing to do would be to wrap an arm around her waist, to pull her in close to let her know she wasn't alone.

If Quinn wasn't so used to picking up American girls in the airport, she probably would've considered it overstepping boundaries. At the moment, though, she didn't think anything of it. She really and truly wasn't trying to flirt with Rachel, just to comfort her. Rachel gave her a small smile in thanks.

"So do you want to go to a club or a bar?" Quinn asked, partially to distract Rachel from the attention they were getting, but mostly to figure out where to tell the cab driver they were going.

"Um," Rachel pondered over the choices in her head for a little while. "I don't… Surprise me."

Quinn nodded. Rachel probably didn't have any experience at all with either of them. She would surprise her, all right.

_We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time_

_It's miserable and magical, oh yeah_

_Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines_

_It's time._

Rachel was about to die from cuteness. Quinn was being so nice, and it had been a long time since anyone had been this genuinely nice, her employees excluded. Not to mention her every move was endearing. From the way Quinn was holding onto her waist to the way she pulled Rachel's bag off the conveyor belt for her.

_He_ had never been this nice.

It wasn't until they got Rachel's bags that the paparazzi appeared. And Rachel was so wrapped up in Quinn that she didn't even notice it until the flashes started going off.

Poor Quinn looked so confused. She glanced over at Rachel, looking for an explanation, and then it dawned on her. Rachel watched as Quinn's face went from confusion to recognition to hurt all in a matter of seconds before finally putting on a neutral, guarded expression.

Rachel expected her to say something. She expected her to make a scene. But Quinn defied her expectations and did nothing but continue on outside to hail a cab.

The second they were loaded up and zooming toward Quinn's flat (they needed a place to drop off their things before going out, and Quinn's was closer), Quinn spoke.

"So you're her."

Rachel sighed. "I am."

"I'm really sorry about the things I said. I didn't know…" Quinn said, shocking Rachel. _Quinn_ was the one apologizing? If anyone, Rachel felt that she should be apologizing. She was the one who had deceived her.

"It's completely alright. I didn't want you to know. It was actually a relief that you didn't know," Rachel confessed.

"That still doesn't make it okay. The things I said… You must think I'm a horrible person," she said, looking down.

"Quinn," Rachel said, trying to catch her eye. "Far worse has been said about me. So let's not dwell on it any longer."

Quinn sighed. "Okay, I just feel really_—"_

"Quinn," Rachel glared at her, cutting her off. This caused her to giggle, and Rachel couldn't help but smile. Damn, she was adorable.

"Let's just have fun tonight," Rachel suggested, taking one of Quinn's hands in hers.

Quinn smiled at her. "Okay."

_I don't know about you_

_But I'm feeling 22_

_Everything will be alright_

_If you keep me next to you._

It was painfully obvious to Quinn that Rachel had never stepped foot in a lesbian club before that night. The look on her face when they entered the room was priceless. She chuckled, and pulled Rachel closer. They seemed to be literally joined at the hip since the airport.

"You never told me it was exclusively lesbians!" she hissed into Quinn's ear after they ordered their drinks.

"Is that a problem?" Quinn asked, and then it dawned on her. "Oh shit, I completely forgot. This probably wouldn't be good for your image if they found you here, would it?"

"It's not that, well it kind of is, but it's also the fact that I'm not exactly a lesbian," she whispered the last part, as if it she would automatically get kicked out if anyone else heard it, even though the music was so loud that no one would overhear them, even if they were talking at normal volume.

Quinn calmly took a sip of her drink, and then smirked. "Really? I kind of just assumed seeing as you flirted with me the entire plane ride."

"I did not!"

"And you asked me out," she added. "So I think you _might_ want to reconsider your sexuality."

Quinn couldn't deny that Rachel looked insanely cute when she was infuriated. "Fine! You caught me! I'm bisexual! But if you leak that to the press, I swear_—_"

"Chill, Rachel," Quinn cut her off. "I'm not going to tell anyone. Though it will kind of be obvious if those pictures of us leaving the airport get out."

"Fuck!" Hearing Rachel curse had Quinn laughing. She just didn't seem like the type that cursed that often.

All of a sudden, Rachel downed her drink. Then she turned to Quinn with a grin. "Fuck it all to hell. Kurt's going to kill me in the morning already. Do you want to dance?"

Quinn smiled, taking Rachel's hand. "It would be an honor."

_You don't know about me_

_But I'll bet you want to_

_Everything will be alright_

_If we just keep dancing like we're 22._

Rachel felt free. She felt free and loved and safe. Quinn brought about all the best feelings. Well, it was either Quinn or the alcohol, but she was pretty sure it was Quinn.

As the night wore on, she had more and more drinks, but she didn't care. She was dancing with the prettiest girl in the world in London where no one could find her on the weekend of her birthday. Everything was perfect. She felt like she was in college again, partying with her friends after a failed Broadway audition to feel better. Only this time she was dancing with someone she was immensely attracted to instead of with Blaine or another one of her gay male friends.

"Do you want to sit down?" Quinn asked all of a sudden.

Rachel was about ready for another drink, so she nodded in agreement. Quinn took her by the hand and led the way off the dance floor over to a circular booth before going to fetch them some drinks. Rachel honestly couldn't believe her luck with finding someone as nice as Quinn. This was how a birthday was meant to be spent.

"What're you thinking about?" Quinn questioned, bringing Rachel back from her thoughts.

She looked over at Quinn and grinned. "How spectacular you are."

"What, because I brought you a drink?" Quinn took a sip of her water. She had had enough alcohol already. "Because if that makes a person spectacular, then you've been hanging around the wrong type of people."

"That's probably true," Rachel replied, thinking of all the people she associated herself with at the present time just because they were good for her image. They certainly weren't very nice. She hadn't had genuinely nice friends since college. "But I meant it in more than a way of you just getting me a drink."

"I know," she admitted. "I just want to hear you say all the wonderful things about me."

Rachel swatted at her playfully. "Well for starters, you're so modest!"

Quinn smirked. "I never claimed to be anything else."

"I'm sure you get all the ladies, then."

"Well," she replied, pausing for emphasis, as if she had to think to make sure there wasn't a single time where she wasn't able to win over a girl. Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yeah pretty much."

"So I probably shouldn't break your winning streak then, huh?" Rachel asked, leaning in closer. It was probably the alcohol, but Rachel was feeling flirty. She hadn't felt that way in a long time.

"Mm no, that wouldn't be ideal," Quinn murmured, turning her head in preparation.

Normally when she was about to kiss someone, Rachel would be looking in every direction to see if someone had a camera phone out, but with Quinn she didn't care. _Let them take a picture if they want,_ she thought, _fuck it, it's my birthday and I'll kiss a beautiful girl if I want to._

Their lips were mere centimeters from each other when Rachel heard her phone ringing. She groaned and pulled back, knowing from the ringtone it was her manager. It was like he had sensed her saying "fuck it" to everything in her mind. She looked over at Quinn, who was looking equally as disappointed and frustrated as her.

"I need to take this," Rachel sighed, standing up.

Quinn gave her a half smile. "Important superstar stuff?"

She rolled her eyes. "I doubt it. I'll be back in a minute."

"If you're not, I'm coming out after you."

"Please do."

With that, Rachel took off back to the exit. There was no way she would be able to hear anything Kurt was saying if she was inside due to the music, and while this would probably be a blessing, Rachel knew he wouldn't appreciate it.

The second she was outside, she hit accept. "What?" she asked, irritated.

"Well hello to you too," Kurt said, sounding just as irritated as her. "May I ask what's got you in such a foul mood, as I haven't even told you the news yet."

"It's none of your business," Rachel replied. "I told you before I left that this is my birthday weekend and I didn't want to be bothered with work."

"Fine, then as your _friend_, I hate to inform you, but you're going to be on a tabloid tomorrow thanks to your PDA in Heathrow."

"Is that all? Not going to yell at me?" Rachel was suspicious. No way would Kurt let her off this easily.

"No. I'm your friend right now and not your manager. The yelling can wait until Monday," he answered. "However, we do need to discuss the woman in question."

"Kurt…" Rachel warned.

He ignored her. "I've done a bit of digging, and do you have any idea who she is?"

"She's the nicest and most genuine person I've met in a long time, and that's all I need to know."

Kurt laughed. "She's a famous painter, Rachel, and she was so easy to find with the help of the internet. Though in every article I've found of her, there's always another name beside hers."

"So she's a collaborator. Lots of great artists are, Rogers and Hammerstein for example," Rachel defended.

"I thought that might be the case too, until I found a picture," Rachel felt her heart sink. "Would you like me to send it to you?"

"No," she whispered. With the slam of the door, Rachel looked up to find Quinn there, smiling at her.

"She's a player, Rachel. All the message boards say so. She's dating photographer Zoie James, and sleeping with every girl she can on the side."


	4. Girl At Home

**Ch. 4- Girl At Home**

_Don't look at me_

_You've got a girl at home_

_And everybody knows that_

_Everybody knows that._

"Thanks, Kurt," was all Rachel could manage to say before ending the call.

"What was that about?" Quinn asked, smile never wavering.

Rachel couldn't even bring herself to look Quinn in the eyes. How could she have been so stupid? Quinn probably knew who she was all along. This was nothing but a game to her; a very well thought out game that Rachel should've seen through the second Quinn sat down beside her on that airplane muttering about damn celebrities.

She couldn't do this. Not again. So she simply turned around and walked away. She'd need new luggage seeing as hers was currently at Quinn's, but she'd survive.

"Rachel?" Quinn called after her.

She ignored her, and kept walking. After a few seconds, Quinn ran to catch up with her.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" Quinn asked, seemingly genuinely confused.

Rachel continued to ignore Quinn, up until the point that she stepped in front of her to block her path. "Okay, what did I do?"

"You thought you were going to get away with it, didn't you?" Rachel questioned, finally chancing a glance up at Quinn. "You thought that I would be stupid enough to fall for your cheap attempts at flirting and the fact that you didn't know who I was on the plane. That's utter bullshit, Quinn! You knew from the start!" Rachel tried to go around her then, but Quinn stopped her.

"What? No I didn't, I swear," she replied. "Why this sudden change in character?"

"Because my manager called to tell me that you're a player!" Rachel half shouted. Quinn looked around, probably making sure that no one was around to record this. "He said that you sleep with random girls despite the fact that you have a girlfriend!"

Quinn shook her head. "Your manager needs to get his facts straight. While I do sleep with random women from time to time, I don't have a girlfriend."

"Really now?" Rachel asked, on the verge of hysterics. "Then who's Zoie James?"

_I don't even know her_

_But I feel a responsibility_

_To do what's upstanding and right_

_It's kinda like a code, yeah_

_And you've been getting closer and closer_

_And crossing so many lines._

Quinn completely froze. It had been so long since she'd heard that name out loud. Everyone knew not to use it in front of her. Then to hear it so harshly from Rachel, as if _Quinn_ was the one at fault and not… well… her.

Rachel was two blocks down before Quinn even realized she was gone.

"Wait!" she yelled after her, running to catch up. "How the hell do you know about her?"

"Thought I wouldn't find out, huh?"

"Rachel, she's not my girlfriend…" Quinn started, but Rachel cut her off.

"Kurt found proof! There were pictures! And articles!"

Quinn sighed. Her head was starting to throb. "Did he care to investigate the date on them? Because I can assure you they were all from over a year ago."

"But… But… But…" was all Rachel could say. She seemed dumbfounded that she could be wrong. Quinn rolled her eyes and took Rachel's hand.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat and I'll explain."


	5. Holy Ground

**Ch 5- Holy Ground**

_I was reminiscing just the other day_

_While having coffee all alone and Lord, it took me away_

_Back to a first-glance feeling I knew your type_

_Back when you fit in my poems like a perfect rhyme_

They found an all-night cafe nearby, and after ordering, sat down together in a booth. The two didn't speak at all until their coffee arrived.

"So," Quinn said after taking a sip. "What all did Kurt tell you?"

"How did you know my manager's name is Kurt if you didn't know about me before?" Rachel lashed out, and this brought about a sigh from Quinn. Rachel still didn't fully believe her. She'd said as much while they were trying to find somewhere that was open. Though she had wanted to leave and go to her hotel, she just couldn't let go of Quinn's hand. Something about it just felt right.

"You mentioned it earlier. You know, back when you were accusing me of cheating?"

"Oh," she murmured, busying herself with putting sugar in her coffee to hide her embarrassment. "Um, I was told you are dating, or, well, dated, a photographer named Zoie James. And that you get around. That's all."

Quinn sighed again. Rachel noticed she had done that quite often over the course of the night. "Do you want the full story? Will that help you believe me?"

Rachel nodded.

She chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm going to tell my story to a random stranger. I truly must be drunk. And yet I don't remember drinking that much."

"Maybe you need to tell it to a stranger to fully rid yourself of it," Rachel stated, looking out the window into the darkness instead of at Quinn. She had no idea what Quinn was going to tell her, but she knew that it would make herself feel a whole lot better if she could get rid of her own story. Yet she knew she couldn't. No one could know outside of her manager. Not yet.

"Woah," Quinn smiled. "And here I was thinking you were a flirty drunk."

Rachel shrugged. "According to you I'm naturally flirty."

"True. Though I never expected you to be the one to spout philosophical rubbish when drunk."

"I guess I'm full of surprises."

"That you are."

After that, Rachel just stared at her expectantly, which meant it was time to start.

"Okay. So when I was a kid in Ohio, my best friend in the whole world was Zoie James. We did everything together. Like literally everything. I pretty much lived at her house from the time I was six, and her parents were like the parents I never had.

"We went through middle school and dated boys like you're supposed to during that time, and I remember that whenever one of us was dating a boy, our relationship was very strained. It wasn't until years later that we realized it was because we were jealous of the boy.

"High school was the first time when we actually weren't attached at the hip. I began cheerleading because my parents made me, and Zoie decided to take up photography for the yearbook. That put us on very different ends of the popularity spectrum. We stayed friends, but we weren't completely in each other's lives like before. So when Zoie began dating a girl, I was shocked. My best friend couldn't be gay." Quinn laughed a bit to herself. "When she came out to me, she admitted to being in love with me right before kissing me. This was still when she was dating another girl, so it should have set off warning signs in my head. Though I was a bit preoccupied running away and having a gay panic."

"You had a gay panic?" Rachel asked, giggling. "But you're so… well… gay."

Quinn smiled at her. "Be that as it may, I grew up in an extremely conservative Christian home. I had heard all too often that the gays were all damned straight to hell and I was not to associate with any of them, lest I catch their disease."

"We would've never been able to be friends then. I have two gay dads," Rachel stated. "Not to mention that I was a huge dork and the cheerleaders at my school made life a living hell for me."

"I suppose it's a good thing we're meeting now and not in high school," she replied as the waitress walked up with their food. Quinn looked up at the girl, who was probably a little younger than them, and flashed her a smile. She was probably working this job while juggling university classes. "Thanks."

The girl grinned back, and Rachel found herself rolling her eyes. "Let me know if you need _anything_ else."

"Will do."

_Took off faster than a green light, go_

_Yeah, you skipped the conversation when you already know_

_I left a note on the door with a joke we'd made_

_And that was the first day._

"So where were we?" Quinn asked after they settled into eating.

"Mm," Rachel said, pretending to think. "Well, before we had to deal with the flirty waitress who wants to jump your bones, I think you were having your gay panic."

This brought about a smirk. "Are you jealous?"

"Not at all. Just stating a fact."

"If you say so." Quinn had seen the jealousy practically radiating off of Rachel back during her interaction with the waitress. But she also wasn't going to push Rachel to admit it when she already knew the answer "So. My gay panic. After Zoie kissed me, I realized that, well, I really liked her kissing me. Except I couldn't be gay. My parents would kill me before allow me to be gay. So I ignored Zoie for a while, hoping that would help everything go away. I even launched myself straight into a relationship with the quarterback from the football team. Yet the longer I waited, the more I couldn't deny that I was developing feelings for her.

"One day I was so sexually frustrated that I couldn't help myself. I pulled Zoie into a janitor's closet and made out with her for a while before I came to my senses and ran out. Then it started becoming a regular thing. One of us would pull the other into a closet or an empty classroom or the auditorium and we'd make out, though it always ended with me running away. That is, until the day came that Zoie wouldn't let me run away." Quinn closed her eyes, the pain of it all hitting her again. She took a deep breath before opening them and continuing.

"She said she wouldn't let us keep doing this. She wanted more, and she knew I wanted more too, but I was too scared to admit it. I tried to explain how my parents felt and how much trouble I would get into if they found out what I was doing, but she wouldn't hear any of it. Zoie said I had to make my own decisions; to hell with what my parents thought." Quinn smiled a bit at this. "That was one of the good things she taught me.

"Anyway, she gave me an ultimatum: either we stop kissing, or I go on a date with her. So I gave up the kissing… For a while. It didn't take long before I couldn't resist dragging her into an empty classroom to kiss her. Which meant that she got to take me on a date. And it was an absolutely perfect date. It made me realize that Zoie was worth all the trouble that it was going to cause should my parents find out. She was special."

_Spinning like a girl in a brand new dress_

_We had this big wide city all to ourselves_

_We blocked the noise with the sound of 'I need you'_

_And for the first time I had something to lose._

"Somehow we stayed a secret throughout high school. Though we both knew we didn't want to hide it in college. We wanted to get away, really get away, and so we found a university in London. It had a very respectable law program, which my dad was convinced I was going to go into as it's Fabray tradition, so he was fine paying for it. The art program was pretty great as well, so Zoie had no problem getting in with her photographs.

"The two of us really let loose that first year. We were going out to clubs, exploring the city, and having sex every chance we could get. We were happy, for the most part. I was pretty miserable in school because I hated law, but Zoie was such a wonderful distraction. She encouraged me to pick up an art to help me have a lighter workload one semester and get me to relax. So I took painting, and I was really good at it. It was something I liked to do as well, and so after a bit of pushing from Zoie, I dropped law for art.

"That was probably the worst thing I could've done. Looking back, I should've just double majored to keep my father happy, but I was thriving off my 'fuck it' attitude that Zoie had taught me. Well, when my dad got my report card in the mail, he noticed the change in major. He and my mother flew straight to London the next day without informing me. As luck would have it, they walked right in on Zoie and me fucking on the couch."

Rachel giggled at this. "What a nice way to come out to your parents."

Quinn grinned at her. "I know, right? As you can imagine, my father walked right back out of the room. My mother stayed long enough to tell me that I should probably plan on staying somewhere else for the holidays, and that she would try to transfer some money into my bank account when she could. That was the last I heard of my parents. My older sister, Frannie, packed all my stuff up from their house and took it to her apartment in California for safe-keeping.

"As it turns out, my mom couldn't get me any money, and my dad cut off the payments for my schooling. Fortunately this wasn't too much of a problem, as Zoie helped me find a bunch of art scholarships. We made it through university, and we both became pretty well-known in the art world. That's when things started to go down. Zoie started spending lots of time out of the apartment. At first I didn't question it, because she had always spent hours roaming the streets trying to find some good pictures. But she'd come back in the morning, having not even bothered to call to let me know that she was staying out." Quinn shook her head. "I loved her so much that I thought she was just trying to put together a new portfolio to send to a museum. It wasn't until I checked her memory card one day and saw all these pictures of girls on them that I admitted that maybe she wasn't just walking around taking pictures."

_And I guess we fell apart in the usual way_

_And the story's got dust on every page_

_But sometimes I wonder how you think about it now_

_And I see your face in every crowd._

"When I asked her about the pictures, she just said they were art, and that she was trying something new. When I suggested she let me come along on the next shoot to make sure, she got really angry about how I should trust her. I probably would've backed down then and apologized if Zoie hadn't at that exact moment got a text from one the girls asking when her next session was because she was horny. Apparently she had been fucking her fans behind my back and then taking pictures. After the text, Zoie simply said that it was art and if I couldn't handle it then that was my problem.

"So I gave her the ultimatum: she either stop, or leave. She claimed the flat was in her name, so I had to leave. I moved in with my friends and cried for days. My friends tried to help me the best that they could. It wasn't until Santana suggested I just pick up having mindless sex that I actually started getting better. Of course they all ended up looking like Zoie. If I pretended hard enough it was her, and I could be the one to leave her and break her heart every night. Which brings me to now, where I most certainly do not have a girlfriend, and haven't for over a year."

Rachel was speechless. Here she was, three in the morning with a random stranger who just poured her heart out, and all she could think of was how much she wanted to just cuddle with Quinn. It was the first time in quite some time that she wasn't worried about paparazzi or her own tattered relationship or her future or anything. She just wanted Quinn to not be all broken inside anymore.

"I'm so sorry," she finally managed to get out. "I didn't know."

"How could you know?" Quinn asked, managing a smile. "Hardly anyone at all does. You're not the only one who tries to keep her life out of the presses."

"So you not only lost your best friend, but the love of your life as well? Man, she sounds like a complete bitch."

This got Quinn laughing. "Santana said the same thing. I can see you two getting along."

"Well I would like to meet her so we can discuss options of how to best get revenge on this girl," Rachel replied, half joking.

"If you stick around long enough, you will. She's one of my flatmates. Which reminds me, you're welcome to stay at my place for the night if you'd like."

"Oh no," she gasped, suddenly coming to a realization. "I'm one of the Zoie lookalikes, aren't I?"

"Pro tip," Quinn stated. "I don't tell all my one night stands my entire history. You're special, Rachel Berry, and not just because you've won some awards."

"You didn't answer the question."

She groaned. "Yes, you look like her. Happy now?"

"Delighted."

"You didn't answer my question, either. Do you want to stay at my flat? I'm not going to try to sleep with you, well, you'll have to sleep with me because there's only one bed available and it's mine, but not have sex sleep with me," Quinn rambled on, and Rachel giggled.

Truth was, if she showed up at her hotel, she would probably have to deal with paparazzi. Plus it would mean leaving Quinn. She wasn't sure she was quite ready for either of those just yet. "I'll stay with you."

_Cause darling, it was good_

_Never looking down_

_And right there where we stood_

_Was holy ground._


	6. Everything Has Changed

**Ch. 6- Everything Has Changed**

_All I knew this morning when I woke_

_Is I know something now_

_Know something now I didn't before._

For the first time in months, Rachel woke up feeling happy. Sometime in the middle of the night Quinn had ended up spooning her, and while normally if she woke up spooning with a stranger after a night of drinking she would be a bit alarmed, but this was different. Quinn brought out all kinds of emotions from her, and none of them were bad.

She stayed in bed for a while, letting Quinn sleep, reveling in the comfort of a warm body pressed up against hers. So many mornings she had woken up alone, and here she was finally with someone else. This was what she needed. She just hoped it was what Quinn needed too.

There was a part of her that was slowly coming to terms that she could very easily fall in love with Quinn if she wasn't careful. Though she wasn't really sure that she wanted to be all that careful. Quinn seemed like the kind of person that it might be okay for her to fall in love with.

She quickly put that thought out of her head, as she was reminded that no one could ever love her. She was a celebrity, for crying out loud; people were only with her for the perks that that gave them.

At least that's how it had been with _him._

No, she would have to be very careful not to become too attached to Quinn. Soon enough this magical weekend would be over and she would be back in California while Quinn stayed in London. She couldn't get used to this feeling of warmth and protection and happiness.

Well… Too late.

Rachel softly sighed as she knew it was hopeless. She had always been easy to fall, and that was one of her weaknesses. It was certainly what had led her to this weekend in the first place. So maybe it wasn't so bad. And maybe it was.

_And all I've seen since eighteen hours ago_

_Is green eyes and freckles and your smile_

_In the back of my mind making me feel like_

_I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now_

Quinn woke up feeling complete. She didn't have this ache in her heart where she knew Zoie used to be. Well, it wasn't completely gone, but it was a start. It was more progress than she had ever made. That itself was enough to see where this thing with Rachel was going.

Not that there really was anything going on with her and Rachel. Sure, they almost kissed last night, but that was nothing. Right?

"So which one of us is the cuddler?" Quinn asked once she realized Rachel was awake as well.

"Mm," Rachel hummed, turning over to face her. "Seeing as you were spooning me, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's you."

"Except according to my track record, I'm not known to cuddle with one night stands," she replied teasingly.

"Man, if this is your idea of a one night stand, I don't know how you get the girls. Though I guess that's the reason they only stick around for one night," Rachel stated, playing along.

Quinn grinned, shaking her head and sitting up. "You win. If you're this witty right after waking up, I have no chance."

"You're right. You do have no chance of ever winning against me," Rachel said, sitting up as well. "Though for your information, I do like to cuddle."

With that Rachel was up and off to the bathroom before Quinn could respond. Quinn decided to go start on breakfast for the two of them. Except when she left the bedroom, she found Santana was already in the kitchen cooking.

"Morning Quinn!" Brittany cried from her place on the couch where she was watching cartoons.

"Good morning, Brittany," she replied, continuing on her way through the living room to the kitchen. Of course. How could she forget? It was Saturday, the day where she and Santana cooked breakfast and they all watched cartoons together.

"Is your friend staying for cartoon breakfast?" Brittany questioned after Quinn.

"Um, I think so."

Santana looked up from her work at the stove where she was making pancakes. "Hey, this is your job. I shouldn't be doing it just because Britt likes your shit American food and you decided to sleep in."

Quinn rolled her eyes, taking over from Santana. "You know you love them too."

"Like hell I do. I love my traditional British breakfast."

"You're Hispanic."

"And your point is?"

"Quinn has a friend over!" Brittany said in a hushed tone, finally having gotten up during the commercial break.

Santana froze where she had been buttering bread to toast. "Britt are you sure?"

"I saw her!"

Quinn kept making pancakes, ignoring their conversation.

Santana turned on her. "Q, what the hell?"

"I can bring people home, you know."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you do," she replied. "Damn, is she homeless or something? Because normally you just go back to their place so you can fuck and leave."

"Oh piss off," Quinn said, shoving Santana with her free hand.

"But really, is she homeless? Because we are not a charity," Santana pressed.

"She's the opposite of homeless, for your information, she's_—_"

"Princess Anna, San! She's _the_ Princess Anna!" Brittany gushed, unable to hold in her excitement anymore.

Santana turns from Brittany to glare at Quinn. "A movie star? Really? You're going down that path now?" Quinn just shrugged. "Couldn't you at least have picked a better one?"

"Quinn?" At the sound of her name being called out, she abandoned her pancakes to find Rachel just exiting her room, now freshly showered. She waved from her place, catching Rachel's attention. "Oh there you are!"

"Fancy some breakfast?"

_And all my walls stood tall painted blue_

_And I'll take them down_

_Take them down_

_And open up the door for you._

"Hi, I'm Brittany!" Rachel was immediately assaulted upon her entrance in the kitchen. Brittany pulled her into a hug not even a second after introducing herself. "You're shorter than I thought you would be."

"I'm Rachel and um, thanks?" Rachel didn't really know how to respond to Quinn's overenthusiastic roommate.

Brittany's smile died a bit. "You mean you're not Anna?"

Rachel looked at Quinn, silently asking what she was supposed to say. Quinn took over for her. "Britt, Anna isn't a real person. Rachel just pretended to be Anna for the movie."

"Oh okay! So you mean like Puck does in his movies?" she questioned.

Quinn and Santana both shared an accusatory glance. "You let her_—_?_"_

"Why the hell would I let her?" Santana asked.

"What?" Rachel asked, completely confused.

"Our friend, Puck, is in gay porn movies," Quinn offered up for Rachel in a hushed tone. "We've been trying to keep them from Brittany, but apparently she was exposed to them somehow anyway."

"B, who showed you those?" Santana questioned gently.

"Puck," she replied. Santana groaned.

"I am going to kill him."

"You're friends with a porn star?" Rachel asked Quinn.

Quinn just shrugged. "He went to university with us and needed money. Then he found out he liked doing it more than the shit job he was taking classes to get. We don't judge."

Rachel nodded. "Do you need help with breakfast?"

Quinn smiled at her. "That's sweet, but you're our guest. You don't have to help."

"Hell yes she does if she wants to eat," Santana interjected. "I don't care if she is a bloody movie star."

"Hi, I don't believe we've been properly introduced yet. Rachel Berry," she said, extending a hand for Santana to shake.

Santana just rolled her eyes before taking her hand. "Santana. And I know who you are. Britt's made me watch that princess movie about fifty million times."

Rachel turned to Quinn. "Your roommates have watched my movie that many times and yet you still had no idea who I was on the plane?"

"You've obviously never watched a movie with them. It's not something you want to do unless you want to also witness sex on the sofa," Quinn answered.

"Oh. Okay," Rachel said, not knowing what else to say.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and fry some bacon, Berry? That's Q's favorite," Santana suggested.

"I would, except I'm kind of a vegan and it goes against my beliefs." Not to mention Rachel had never learned to cook anything more complicated than toast.

"Then what _can_ you do?"

"Coffee?"

Santana sighed. "You picked a real winner, Quinn. At least B can make bacon."

Rachel went to say something, but Quinn jumped to her defense before she could. "Don't be such a bitch. Not everyone had to cook for five siblings every morning while growing up."

"Damn right they didn't. Berry, why don't you go pick us up some Starbucks?"

"We have a coffeepot for a reason," Quinn pointed out.

Santana threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Fine! Just let the superstar sit and watch the commoners!"

"Quinn, I really don't mind helping," Rachel tried, but Quinn just shook her head.

"Don't let Santana get to you."

So Rachel took a seat at the bar and quietly watched the antics of the three. It was clear that they all loved each other. Quinn wasn't left out feeling like a third wheel as it probably would've been when anyone else lived with a couple.

Rachel found herself wishing she had a life like these three. She wouldn't be near as lonely if she had someone like Santana to bicker with all day or Brittany to discuss random things with. They weren't near as well off as she was, though Rachel knew she would easily trade all her wealth for a few loyal friends. She knew she didn't really have that option, but it was nice to dream. She could dream all she wanted of moving in with Quinn and having her teach her how to cook breakfast.

It would never be anything more than a dream, though, and she knew that. With the life she had made for herself, she couldn't have a simple life with Quinn or anyone. It would forever be filled with grocery store tabloids commenting on how she's gained weight. This was the life she had chosen, way back in high school. She just _had_ to show her tormentors that she was capable of so much more than they could see. And she had shown them. Though the price she had to pay to do that, Rachel didn't know if it was worth it anymore.

She shook her head, smiling to herself. If her younger self could only hear her thoughts now. High school Rachel would think she was absolutely insane for thinking it wasn't worth it. She was a star, what she had wanted since she was little. What could be so wrong about that?

Plenty apparently. She didn't have friends, something she'd also always wanted since she was little. She was sure that being famous would cause her to gain more than enough friends. And it did. Except they weren't the sort of people she wanted to be friends with; they were only there because of her fame. The same types of people who had once picked on her in high school were crawling all over themselves to please her, and that should've made her happy. But it didn't. She just wanted someone real. Someone who liked her for who she was, not what movie she was in.

And she had found that person. She was standing right in front of her, with flour in her hair and a smile on her face as she made the Mickey Mouse pancakes that were more than likely for Brittany. Yet she knew this wouldn't last. How could it, with Quinn living in London and she in Los Angeles?

She knew she would just have to make the most out of this weekend. Whatever happens later would just have to wait.

_And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies_

_The beautiful kind, making up for lost time_

_Taking flight, making me feel right_

When breakfast was made, Quinn sat down beside Rachel, placing plates before both of them. Rachel looked down at her plate quizzically, then back up at Quinn, waiting for her to explain whatever was wrong.

"I hope you don't mind," Quinn said hurriedly. "I went ahead and got the food I know you can eat. You looked kind of lost in your thoughts and I didn't want to disturb you."

"I'm sorry," Rachel started. "But I can't eat pancakes. I know for a fact that they contain milk."

That was the problem. Quinn beamed, realizing Rachel hadn't noticed. "These don't contain milk. I googled vegan pancake recipes and made some for you just so you didn't feel left out."

Rachel gaped at her for a few seconds, unable to find words. "You didn't have to do that, Quinn."

She shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. "I know, but I wanted to."

"You're so whipped, Q," Santana commented, sitting down on the other side of her.

The two ignored her. "Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me."

"It's just pancakes," Quinn tried, but Rachel wasn't having it.

She shook her head. "It's not just pancakes. No one's ever made accommodations for my diet before."

"Well then that makes them shitty people."

"No, it just makes them normal people," Santana added. Quinn turned to glare at her, and Santana just rolled her eyes. "Bitch you don't scare me. I've seen you a crying mess on the floor."

"San, don't be mean," Brittany put in. "And come on, we need to start watching cartoons."

"Can't we wait until after I've finished my breakfast?" Santana asked gently.

"No. Leave Rachel and Quinn alone and let's watch Spongebob." With that, Santana was practically dragged to the living room by Brittany, and the two were alone.

"So. Do you have any plans for today?" Quinn asked after swallowing a mouthful of food.

"Not at all."

"Really? Aren't movie stars supposed to have their days planned out?"

"Not movie stars on vacation," she replied. "I came here to get away from planned out days."

Quinn knew she shouldn't ask. She should just let Rachel go and move on with everything. Yet something in her wanted to get to know Rachel better. She wanted to take a chance on things again. So she did. "Then you wouldn't mind wandering around London today with no planned destinations at all? With me, that is."

Rachel grinned. "I'd love to."

_Cause all I know is we said, "Hello."_

_And your eyes look like coming home_

_All I know is a simple name_

_Everything has changed_

_All I know is you held the door_

_And you'll be mine and I'll be yours_

_All I know since yesterday is everything has changed._


	7. State Of Grace

**Ch. 7- State of Grace**

_I'm walking fast through the traffic lights_

_Busy streets and busy lives_

_And all we know_

_Is touch and go._

"So we need to avoid touristy areas, right?" Quinn asked Rachel as they stepped out into the streets.

"Not necessarily. It's Christmas, and they're likely to be so crowded that no one will notice me," she replied. "So wherever you want to go, we can go."

"Well you've seen all the sights already, haven't you?"

"Yeah, for the most p_—_" Rachel stopped, realizing she had never once told Quinn that she had been to London before. "How did you know that?"

Quinn shrugged. "Lucky guess."

Rachel was good at reading faces, and she could tell Quinn was hiding something. She stopped walking. "Quinn."

"Hm?" She turned around when she noticed that Rachel was no longer by her side.

"How did you know that?" Rachel questioned once again.

She sighed, walking back to Rachel and taking her hand to pull her along. "Fine. You caught me. I may have googled you this morning when you were putting on your makeup."

"And what did you find?" Rachel wasn't letting go of Quinn's hand for anything. Quinn didn't seem that inclined to let go either.

"You've won some awards, made a couple movies, been on a few well-known television shows. Big deal." Quinn had just summed up the last few years of her life like they meant nothing to her, like they weren't the only thing that mattered to her. And that, that was something Rachel could get used to.

"But you know that I spent a summer here filming a movie," Rachel stated.

"I do. The part about it being in London caught my attention."

"Were you here then?" she questioned as they waited at the crosswalk.

"You know, it's funny. I actually was, and I have this memory of Zoie wanting me to go watch when you were filming on location. It was a couple blocks down from our flat at the time, and I was going to go."

"But you didn't," Rachel said for her. "Because otherwise you would've known who I was on the airplane."

"I didn't. I got caught up in a painting and completely missed it. I remember I had to make it up to Zoie with Chinese food," she replied. "But isn't it weird? How close we came to meeting years ago, but we didn't. If I hadn't missed that filming, we might not be here today."

"It's weird how things work out," Rachel agreed. "For what it's worth, I'm really happy you didn't go that day."

"Me too."

"Besides, it rained so much that afternoon. I was freezing and I'm sure I looked like a complete mess. I'm glad you met me when I looked like an important businesswoman instead," Rachel joked, trying to get a smile out of Quinn, and it worked. Their topic had begun to shift toward the serious, and Rachel liked for it to stay light between them.

"I'm sure you still looked as beautiful as ever," she said. "This way." They suddenly changed directions.

"Quinn Fabray are you saying you think I'm beautiful?" Rachel teased her.

"Maybe, maybe not. The world may never know."

"Well, I'm Rachel, not the world. I have a right to know."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Fine, superstar. I do think you're beautiful. Very much so. But it's a secret."

Rachel grinned. Quinn would play along with her, and it made her happy. _He_ had never been so considerate. "Can I tell you a secret then?"

"Sure."

"I think you're beautiful, too."

Quinn looked away, trying to hide her smile, but Rachel still saw it. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. But it's a secret, remember?"

"Of course. I will let no one know that superstar Rachel Berry called me beautiful."

"Good. So where are we going?" she asked, noting the abrupt turn they had taken before.

"You mean you don't know yet?" Rachel shook her head. "Then it'll be a surprise."

Most of the time, Rachel hated not knowing where she was going. She needed a destination and she needed to be in control of how she got there. If it had been anyone else, she might have refused. Except this was Quinn, and somehow Rachel trusted a girl that she had known less than 24 hours more than she trusted anyone else. She knew this should be setting off warning signs, but she ignored them in favor of living in the moment.

_So you were never a saint_

_And I've loved in shades of wrong_

_We learn to live with the pain_

_Mosaic broken hearts_

_But this love is brave and wild. _

"Do you know where we are now?" Quinn asked ten minutes later.

They were at the entrance to a park that Quinn knew well. There were tons of people all about, and it was decorated for Christmas, but Quinn felt that Rachel should still be able to recognize it.

"I kind of do. It's familiar to me but…" Rachel looked confused, and Quinn felt her heart melt a bit over how adorable she looked like that. "Are there usually carnival rides? And so many people?"

Quinn laughed. "No, there aren't. That's what is throwing you off."

"So where are we?" Rachel questioned as they entered the into the mass of people.

"Hyde Park," she replied.

Rachel jumped up and down, momentarily letting go of Quinn's hand in her excitement. "Oh! I do know this place!"

Quinn smiled at how happy she was. "I thought you might."

"This was where I filmed my movie that day," she stated, following Quinn through the crowd.

Quinn nodded. "It is. It's just a bit different in the winter."

"Hey, hold on," Rachel said, taking a few steps to catch up with her and grabbing her hand. "I never said you could let go."

"You're the one who let go," Quinn reminded her.

"Well I won't again." Rachel promised. Quinn felt herself freeze, remembering a similar conversation that she had with Zoie. She tried to push the thought out of her mind, but it was already there. Zoie had eventually let go, so how could Quinn believe Rachel wouldn't?

Her guard went back up, but she tried her best not to let it show. "Okay. Come on, I've got an idea of something for us to do."

_This is a state of grace_

_This is the worthwhile fight_

_Love is a ruthless game_

_Unless you play it good and right_

"Just so you know, I haven't done this since high school and I think I'm doing pretty well for myself," Rachel said after Quinn had to catch her to keep her from falling once more.

Quinn just laughed. "I think you're doing fantastic."

Rachel huffed, not believing her for a second, despite Quinn's sincere response. "Do you take all the girls ice skating just so you can have them fall into your arms?"

She shook her head. "Only the pretty ones."

Quinn had led them to the ice skating rink in the park. At first Rachel had protested, not having ice skated in years. Even when she did ice skate, it was only once a year with her dads around Christmastime. So she wasn't the best ice skater, and she didn't want to make a fool of herself. Quinn had insisted, though, and Rachel couldn't resist her when she saw Quinn smile like that. Though Quinn was constantly having to help her, Rachel was happy with her decision. It showed Quinn cared enough not to let her fall.

"Glad to know I'm not a special case then," Rachel teased. "I thought you might be picking on my inability to properly ice skate."

"Never," she promised, steadying Rachel as they swerved around a small child. "How would I even know that?"

"I don't know. I assumed my ice skating skills would be on the internet like everything else," Rachel replied, gripping Quinn's hand tighter as they sped up. She felt like she was finally getting the hang of it, but she still didn't want to fall.

"Well they might be, but I didn't look for them," Quinn stated. "I would much rather learn about you from you."

Rachel would've swooned if she was more confident in her skating abilities. Finally someone who wanted to know her side of things; who wanted to get to know her instead of cheating with the internet.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything," she responded at once.

Rachel dramatically took a deep breath. "At 10:29am on the morning of December 18th, 1994 I was born to_—_"

"Wait," Quinn interrupted. "It's the 17th today."

"Congratulations, Quinn, you can read a calendar," Rachel remarked, knowing what was coming next. She had hoped to keep this fact from Quinn, but knew it would probably come up eventually.

Quinn slid to a stop. "That means your birthday is tomorrow. Why are you here with some random stranger instead of with people who love you?"

Rachel hoped the pain couldn't show on her face. She thought she was well-equipped with a mask to hide her emotions, but with Quinn she wasn't sure. "Can we talk about something else?"

She could tell Quinn was frustrated. She wanted to know what was going on, but she didn't press the issue. "So as you were saying? Born to?"

Rachel smiled, shaking her head. What was she going to do when she had to leave this woman on Monday?

Just as they were about to start back skating, Rachel felt someone, a small someone, run into her from behind. She would've fallen had she not had Quinn to steady her. When she turned around to help, she saw that her assumption had been correct: it was a little kid, and a girl at that.

Rachel bent down, Quinn at her side. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

The girl nodded, straightening her glasses that had been knocked askew. She looked to be about 8 or 9, hardly old enough to be skating in this big crowd all on her own. When she looked up at Rachel to say something, she froze, her eyes going wide in recognition. She immediately flattened her brown hair down with her hands, making sure it and her hat were still in place so she wasn't making a fool of herself in front of _the _Princess Anna.

"Are you her?" the girl asked, still in awe.

"Princess Anna? I am," Rachel replied. "But here I go by Rachel. What's your name?"

She could see out of the corner of her eye that Quinn was smiling at her, watching this interaction. Quinn was keeping quiet, though, knowing that this moment was important to the girl. She knew that this sort of thing mattered to Rachel, unlike _him_. He would always rush her through things.

"I'm Alice," she mumbled, looking down at her mittens.

"Alice, I'm sorry I knocked you down," Rachel apologized.

"It's okay, I was showing off for my friends anyway."

Rachel didn't see any other kids lingering around, waiting on her. "Where are they?"

"Well… They're not _really_ my friends. They kind of tease me because of my glasses and because I take skating classes. But I thought if I showed them all the fancy tricks I learned they wouldn't think I was a loser anymore."

"If they're not nice, who needs them?" Rachel stated. "I never had friends when I was growing up. But you'll find someone who likes you for who you are, because you're so much more awesome than I was at your age. For one thing, I'm sure you can skate a lot better than me." Rachel heard Quinn giggle at this.

"Thanks," Alice said, finally glancing back up at Rachel.

"Um, Rachel?" Quinn said.

Rachel turned to her, wondering why Quinn was choosing now to speak up. "Yeah?"

"I hate to end this because you're adorable when you do this, but I think they found you." Quinn gestured in the direction across from them, outside of the rink. Sure enough, there was a man with a camera taking pictures of this whole scene.

Rachel sighed, slowly standing up. "It was nice meeting you Alice, but we have to go now."

"Bye, Rachel," she heard the girl say, but she was already skating off toward the exit with Quinn. She hated doing that, but she knew Kurt would kill her if she didn't at least try to stay out of the press.

_These are the hands of fate_

_You're my Achilles heel_

_This is the golden age of something good and right and real._

"Why are we running anyway?" Quinn asked as they changed out of their ice skates. "I mean, you were talking to a kid and ice skating. It's not like you were getting drunk at a gay club."

"No, that was last night," Rachel said wryly, causing Quinn to grin.

"But really though."

"People will assume things," Rachel said, focusing her attention on her shoes.

"Like?"

"Like things," she replied, a bit more forcefully than she'd wanted.

"So like that you and your boyfriend have broken up, or that you're cheating on him with some slut artist?" Quinn asked with a tone of bitterness.

"Quinn…" Rachel knew this was likely to come up when she heard that Quinn had googled her.

"No, you don't have to explain anything to me," she said, standing up from the bench they were sitting at. "I'm not entitled to know anything."

"That's not true. You told me your story last night. You have a right to know mine. It's just… I_—_ is there somewhere more private we can go?" She could still see the photographer.

"Yeah. Follow me." Quinn didn't offer up her hand, and Rachel noticed.

_And I never saw you coming_

_And I'll never be the same._

* * *

**Just a little note that I have never been to London, so anything that I did or did not get right throughout this chapter and the rest of them is due to that. The internet can only help me so much.**


	8. I Knew You Were Trouble

**Ch. 8- I Knew You Were Trouble**

_Once upon a time _

_A few mistakes ago_

_I was in your sights _

_You got me alone_

_You found me_

_You found me _

_You found me._

Quinn led them into a nearby Starbucks, and Rachel looked at her like she was crazy.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"I just thought you were too cool for Starbucks. Don't you have some hole in the wall cafe that all artists visit?" Rachel questioned her.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but the coffee's shit. I only went there because I was poor. Now I can afford something better."

"Do you want anything?" Quinn had been so nice to her, she wanted to at least try to repay her. That, and she wanted to stall for time before she told her story.

"Yeah, but I'll buy it," she replied, getting into the line.

"No, let me get this for once. It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me," Rachel argued.

"It's your birthday, let me get you something."

"My birthday's not until tomorrow, and you don't have to get me anything."

"I want to."

"Well_—_"

Rachel was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat. The cashier was standing in front of them. They had somehow made it to the front of the line without noticing. "What can I get for you?"

Rachel ended up paying for the coffee, having been able to whip out her credit card faster than Quinn could find anything. To get back at her, Quinn flirted with the barista. At least that's how Rachel interpreted the situation. Quinn was probably just being her natural charming self, but Rachel was getting jealous for some strange reason. She tried her best to shrug the feelings off.

"Okay," Quinn said after they sat down. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

"I know," Rachel assured her. "But you deserve to know since I dragged you into the tabloids with me."

"No you didn't. I willingly went along with you."

"Be that as it may, you still need to know some things," Rachel took a deep breath readying herself to let out her secret. "I am currently single." She looked around, making sure that the paparazzi weren't going to come bursting in at that statement.

"So you're no longer dating Finn Hudson?" Quinn asked carefully.

Rachel wanted to cringe at the mention of him, but she had already trained herself not to. Instead she found herself nodding to answer Quinn's question. "No one else knows though outside of my manager and him, and I guess you now."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"It'll be common knowledge soon enough. We're announcing the breakup in January," she replied, dodging the question. Quinn didn't press her about it, though. "Kurt thinks that it would be best to wait until after the holidays, both for the mood of the public and for my emotional health. Before I came to London I was… Not my best."

Quinn nodded in understanding.

"Can I ask you a question?" Rachel asked abruptly.

"Besides the one you just asked? Sure."

"When you told me everything that happened between you and Zoie, did that really help you?" Rachel wanted to get rid of these feelings, but she wasn't sure if it would actually help by telling Quinn or if she'd just be bringing all these memories back up for nothing.

"It did. I think it's something to do with telling a stranger your deepest secrets," she explained. "It puts you in the mindset that if you're telling all this to some random person from the streets, it must not mean as much as it used to. And it doesn't."

"Okay. I'm going to tell you my story because if there's a chance I can get rid of this, then I want to take it."

"Go ahead. I'll listen."

_And he's long gone when he's next to me_

_And I realize the blame is on me._

"So I'm just going to start with high school because that's sort of where it began," Rachel said. "Okay. Well, to say I was unpopular in high school is an understatement. What I told that little girl earlier was true: I had no friends. Not only that, but the cheerleaders and football players would slushie me for fun."

"Slushie?" Quinn asked, not really understanding the terminology.

"It's when they take a slushie and purposely throw it in your face," Rachel explained.

"Oh. That's kind of harsh."

"That was my life for four years. Always keeping a spare set of clothes in my locker for the inevitable slushie of the day. But there was one guy who never slushied me."

"Let me guess: Finn Hudson?"

Rachel nodded. "He was quarterback of the football team and not once did he slushie me. I thought he was different. That's probably why I had a huge crush on him. Nothing ever happened with that. I mean, I was pretty obvious with my affections, and he seemed like he might have thought I was an okay person, but there was still the fact that I was a complete loser and he wasn't. So I graduated high school and forced myself to move on from the crush.

"College was better for me. I still wasn't well-liked, but I did have a few genuine friends. It was performing arts college so of course everyone was cutthroat. I casually dated a couple girls and guys over my four years, but they all found me overly annoying at times, so none of them ever lasted long. When I was cast in my first movie, the princess movie, at the end of my senior year, that severed almost all ties I had made with people at school. Getting a role is a big deal there, and no one likes you any better for it. The only friend who stayed by my side through it all was Kurt, and that was probably only because he'd switched to performing arts management the year before, after he got nodes and Broadway was no longer a possibility for him.

"Fast forward a year later to the premiere of my first major movie. I was so excited to have gotten to do something so good for my second movie. I remember being on the red carpet and seeing all the camera flashes and then there he was, behind them. Finn Hudson." She smiled slightly at the memory. "He was so tall, so of course you could see him over the paparazzi. It had been years, and yet there he was with his goofy smile and a single rose. I was so enchanted, and so flattered that he remembered me after all this time. My small crush from high school returned."

'_Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in_

_So shame on me now_

_Flew me to places I'd never been_

'_Til you put me down._

"I gave him my number that night, and we started talking. It turned out he was in LA acting as well. He had only managed to get small roles on television shows, but he knew his big break was coming. Apparently he had seen my picture on a billboard while on the way to work, and realized he went to high school with me, so he decided to show up at my premiere to congratulate me. This all seemed like the sweetest thing to me, like a story out of a modern day fairytale, and I've always been a fool when it comes to romance. So when he asked me on a date a few weeks later, of course I said yes. I should've said no. I find myself regretting not saying no all the time.

"We began dating regularly, and soon enough it was all over the tabloids. The positive exposure he got from being with me was enough to land him a starring role on a comedy show. He became a household name, and it was all thanks to me. I should've realized then that he was using me, but I finally had someone other than Kurt who would spend time with me. It should have been obvious when he would only be affectionate with me when we were in public." Rachel sighed. "God I'm so stupid."

"No," Quinn protested. "You were lonely. Sometimes that makes people do crazy things, like have meaningless sex with a bunch of girls, for example."

This brought about a smile from Rachel. "You know exactly what to say, don't you?"

"Not always," she replied. "But continue on."

_No apologies_

_He'll never see you cry_

_Pretends he doesn't know_

_That he's the reason why_

_You're drowning_

_You're drowning_

_You're drowning._

"Things were okay for a while. We were a slightly happy couple. We went to all the premieres together and we got so much exposure. Then one day a couple weeks ago, I had to fly to New York for an audition. It's always been my dream to be in musicals on Broadway, but I've never had the chance. If you do movies first, they don't really want you on the stage unless you become a big name celebrity that will draw a fanbase to the theater. I had finally gotten a call from Kurt that there was a good chance I could get a Broadway role, but I had to fly out to New York for a couple days to audition.

"I left Finn, telling him I would probably be gone a week to audition and visit with my dads a bit while I was there. They live in New York. He wished me luck and saw me off at the airport because goodbye kisses at the airport are the best publicity." Rachel rolled her eyes. "My audition… It didn't go over well at all. I was so nervous that I completely messed it up. Simple dances that I could've done when I was five were tripping me up at every turn. My voice cracked at least three times. By the time we got to the acting portion, my nerves were so shot that I completely misread my character. It was a disaster.

"I got on the next flight home, wanting nothing more than to have Finn hold me and tell me there would always be other auditions. I didn't even call him to let him know I was on my way back so he could pick me up or send my driver for me. I couldn't talk at all or I would burst into tears. I just quietly made my way back and got in a cab at LAX to go straight to his house. That was a mistake."

"Oh God," Quinn said, knowing there was only one thing that could come next.

"When I got there, I just let myself in. I had a key, after all, and it was late. I assumed he was already in bed, and he was. Oh he was. I walked in wanting to cuddle and cry, but he was in the middle of sex with his co-star from the show. I completely froze for about half a minute before I walked out of the room. Somehow they were so into it that they never even noticed me. Before I left his house, I took my key off of his keyring. I didn't need him showing up there anymore. I would've deleted my number from his phone if it hadn't been in his room.

"I honestly thought about killing myself that night when I got home, but I couldn't do it. I had to remind myself that I didn't survive four years of slushies and mean names just to give up now. Later he tried calling, he tried coming over, but I wasn't dealing with him. I shut myself off from the world, only stopping to tell Kurt to handle things. Eventually Finn got the message.

"I had to go back to work for a week to film the finale of the tv show I was a recurring character on, and I barely made it through that week. Halfway through it I booked a flight to London for the upcoming weekend because there was no reason for me to stay in LA for it. I could've gone home to my dads, but they would've just asked me where Finn was and I didn't want to deal with that just yet. So I came here, because I like London. No one will throw me a birthday party here because no one knows me here. I meant this as a weekend to finally build myself back up before I have to go to my dads' for a couple weeks on Monday to celebrate the holidays. And you know what? It worked. This weekend has helped me so much, and it's only Saturday afternoon."

Quinn smiled. "I'm happy to have helped. Just be glad you found me and not Santana. She would be making her way to LA right now to kick Finn Hudson's ass."

"I'm happy it was you too. I don't think I would've connected to Santana as much as I did to you. There's just something about you that makes me feel completely at home," Rachel admitted.

"Really?" Quinn had to admit she was surprised. When she let her walls fall down a bit, she felt that way too. She would never admit it, but it was nice to know that she wasn't alone in the feeling.

"Yeah," Rachel assured her.

They were both silent for a while, staring at each other. Neither wanted to look away. Before Quinn knew what she was doing, she felt herself slowly leaning across the table toward Rachel, and surprisingly Rachel was too. Before they could get to each other and Quinn could find out what happened when they did, her phone rang.

Annoyance crossed Rachel's face, and Quinn sighed as she sat back in her chair to answer the phone. She saw from the caller ID that it was Puck, and she hoped that he wasn't calling to tell her something stupid like he was 98% of the time.

"Yeah?" Quinn asked, not even bothering with a proper greeting.

Her own annoyance quickly vanished as he told her what he had called for. Rachel, on the other hand, remained annoyed.

"We'll be back at my the flat soon. Don't leave without us, okay?" Quinn said to Puck.

After she had said her goodbyes, Quinn hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Rachel questioned.

Quinn grinned at her. "We're going to a party."

_He was long gone when he met me_

_And I realize the joke is on me._


	9. Starlight

**Ch. 9- Starlight**

_I said, "Oh my, what a marvelous tune"_

_It was the best night, never would forget how we moved_

_The whole place was dressed to the nines_

_And we were dancing, dancing_

_Like we're made of starlight._

Rachel had no idea what was going on. One minute she was in Starbucks almost kissing Quinn, the next she was running down the streets hand in hand with the same girl. She tried to get Quinn to explain what they were doing, but Quinn just promised her that it would be fun. All she knew was that it was a party, and they were meeting Quinn's porn star friend Puck back at her apartment.

"This better be worth it," Rachel huffed as they ran along.

"It will be. I promise," Quinn said, turning the corner. "And here we are."

"Thank goodness. These boots aren't made for running."

Upon entering Quinn's apartment,the two were met with a chorus of yelling.

"Q!" shouted a large mohawked man who then proceeded to wrap Quinn in a bear hug.

"Hey, Puck," Quinn replied, hugging him back.

"We are going to have so much fun tonight. For real," he said before he caught sight of Rachel. "Hey, holy shit hey. You were in that movie!"

"I really hope you're referring to the Oscar-nominated action movie and not the princess movie, but each his own, I suppose."

"I've actually seen both," Puck admitted. "Brittany makes everyone watch that damn princess movie. But anyway, I'm Noah Puckerman, but everyone just calls me Puck."

He held out his hand to shake, and Rachel took it. "Rachel Berry."

"Nice catch, Q," Puck said, addressing Quinn again.

Quinn rolled her eyes and ignored his comment. "Please tell me you brought costumes for us."

"Of course. I'm nothing if not prepared," he replied. "Q your choices are in your room, and Rachel Berry's are in Santana and Brittany's room."

"Wait, costumes? We have to wear costumes for this?" Rachel looked to Quinn for guidance. Quinn just smiled at her.

"Don't worry, we'll help you out," said Santana as she walked into the living room from the kitchen. Brittany followed along behind her. They both were wearing beautiful old-fashioned ball gowns.

"If anything that makes me worry even more," Rachel murmured to Quinn, who laughed at this.

"You'll be fine," Quinn assured her. "I'll see you on the other side, okay?"

Rachel wasn't so sure about that, but she let Brittany and Santana lead her into their bedroom. Inside were several other ball gowns all strewn on the bed.

"Your options are pretty limited due to your height," Santana said straight away. Rachel wanted to protest that she wasn't _that_ short, but she knew that in that moment Santana wasn't making fun of her height. "Brittany and I picked out the ones that would probably fit you. B could you get those out of the closet?"

"Sure San," she replied, opening up their closet to pull out four dresses. "Rachel, I think you would look best in this one." She held up an off-white strapless dress. Scattered across it were golden sparkles. It wasn't exactly old-fashioned late 1800's like Santana and Brittany's, but it had a vintage flair to it. Rachel fell in love with it almost immediately.

"I think you're right, Brittany. That dress is lovely," Rachel said, taking it from her to look at it closer.

"It reminds me of stars," Brittany said. "That's why I like it."

"I agree. This is the one."

"Woah, hold on. I went through all those dresses, and you're just going to choose the first one Brittany randomly picked out without even looking at the others?" Santana asked, glaring at Rachel. "I know you're a movie star or whatever, but I don't put up with that shit."

"San, be nice. I like her," Brittany said to her. "We want her to stay with Quinn so Quinn will be happy again."

"Oh, Quinn and I aren't together," Rachel put in.

Brittany smiled softly at her. "Yet. But wait and see what happens."

Rachel didn't want to believe her. She knew there was no chance of anything with Quinn. Yet in that moment, she let herself give in to the belief of birthday magic and a pretty dress.

_Can't remember what song it was playing when we walked in_

_The night we snuck into a yacht club party_

_Pretending to be a duchess and a prince._

"This is stupid," Quinn said, looking at herself in the mirror. "I look like a Disney prince."

"That's the fucking point," Puck replied. "And you look hot. If you weren't gay I'd totally go for you."

"You've already done that. Remember our first year of university?" Quinn reminded him.

"Oh yeah. Zo_—_ she was so pissed," Puck glanced at her apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's fine. You can say her name now," Quinn stated, messing with her hair. "I'm over it."

"Really?" Quinn nodded. "Remind me to thank Rachel Berry. She's a miracle worker. I hope you two get married."

"Puck, it's not like that between us. We're just friends." Quinn knew before she even said it that Puck wasn't going to accept that.

"If it took 'just friends' to cure you of your Zoie sickness, you would have been better a long time ago and you know that. Santana, Brittany, and I tried fucking everything to get you over her."

Quinn sighed, remembering how hard they had tried and how bad she had felt that nothing they did ever helped her at all. "Yeah, I know."

"So there is no just friends with you and this girl. You may not have admitted it to each other, or even to yourself, but you feel something more for Rachel than friendship." Puck didn't often have serious talks with her, but when he did, Quinn knew he was right. When she let herself think about it, she did feel an attraction toward Rachel. The problem was that she couldn't let herself think about it. Rachel wasn't staying in London. She couldn't stay, even if they did somehow end up falling in love in the short time before she left.

"Maybe," was all she would give him.

"Whatever. Hide your feelings like you always do. Just don't hide them from Rachel. You only have so much time with her."

"That's the problem," Quinn muttered to herself, but Puck caught it.

"Make the most of it. Don't focus on the future. Focus on the now. Otherwise you're gonna regret it. You're not gonna get tonight back, Q." He pulled her in for a hug. "So go out there and get your princess."

It was in that moment that Quinn realized she had some fantastic friends.

_He said, "Look at you, worrying so much about things you can't change_

_You'll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way."_

It turned out that they weren't exactly invited to this party. Puck had to sneak them in through the back way because the only reason they could get in at all was due to one of his friends waiting tables at the party.

Also it was on a yacht. Not that Rachel had never been on a yacht before, but not when it was cold outside. Londoners were insane.

Fortunately, most of the party took place inside the yacht. It was a massive boat, and Rachel knew that even with all her money she wouldn't be able to afford something like this. It wasn't something she ever saw herself wanting, though. Boats just weren't her thing. Maybe it had something to do with her being raised a New Yorker.

She looked over at Quinn to gauge her reaction at everything. Quinn looked breathtakingly gorgeous, but her face contained no hint of how she felt. There was nothing revealing about the small smile she wore.

Then Quinn turned to Rachel and her smile grew. "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

"As opposed to every other day?" Rachel replied, seeing Brittany and Santana slip away to dance.

"Do you have to turn every single compliment I give you into a snarky remark?"

"Yes," Rachel said simply. "It's part of my inability to believe anything anyone says is true."

"Finn Hudson really screwed you up, huh?" Quinn commented, frowning a bit.

"Let's not talk about him tonight," Rachel stated. She never wanted to deal with him again. She would rather deal with the girl in front of her.

"Okay. What should we talk about?"

"How about we dance?"

Quinn held out her hand for Rachel to take. "I can do that."

So they did. It was different from last night, though. This was formal dancing. Rachel felt like a character in a storybook while waltzing with Quinn. Never before had she felt like magic was real. But now? Now she was sure of it. This whole weekend was magic, and if it got better with each hour, she couldn't wait to see what was waiting for her on Sunday.

Except that was tomorrow. She needed to focus on the now.

"So tell me, Quinn Fabray," Rachel started after they had been dancing for a while. "Where did you learn to dance?"

"I took different styles of dance for basically all my life. It came in handy when I became a cheerleader in high school," she replied. "It also comes in handy when I need to impress a gorgeous girl on a boat in London."

"You're trying to impress me?" Rachel asked, finding it hard to believe that Quinn was 'trying' to do anything. Everything she did, she did flawlessly.

"Of course not. I'm trying to impress Santana," Quinn joked, seizing the opportunity as Brittany and Santana danced by them. "Isn't that right, S?"

"Fuck no to whatever you said," Santana stated. The orchestra was too loud for anyone to hear Quinn and Rachel's conversation. "The superstar is right."

This got Rachel to grin. "Santana has spoken, Quinn. You're trying to impress me."

"Maybe I am. Is it working?"

"Hm," Rachel pretended to contemplate this. "It would probably be more impressive if I hadn't grown up taking dance as well. But still impressive nonetheless."

"We should have a dance-off sometime," Quinn suggested.

Rachel almost laughed at this. She was a professionally trained dancer, ready to tackle the hardest dances on Broadway. "Only if you want to lose."

"I wouldn't lose. I'm Quinn Fabray. I never lose," she warned.

"Well I'm Rachel Berry, and I never lose either."

Quinn laughed at how serious Rachel had gotten. "Has anyone ever said that you're kind of intense?"

"Only all my life."

"Well, it's different. I like it."

"I like you." Wait. Where had that come from? That definitely wasn't what Rachel had been planning on saying. She was trying to be witty because it amused Quinn and then she went and ignored what was actually said.

"I like you too," Quinn admitted.

Rachel's heart soared. "Really?"

"Really."

"Wow, we sound like we're in 4th grade," Rachel commented.

"I don't know about you, but I was a lot more eloquent than this in 4th grade," Quinn said, smiling at her. "Hell, I was a lot more eloquent than this last week."

"And so what happened?"

"I met you."

Rachel knew this was it. This was the moment they were going to finally kiss. She was going to kiss Quinn under the twinkle lights as people dressed in fancy clothes danced by and orchestra music drifted through the room, and no damn cell phone was going to stop them this time because neither of them brought their cell phones.

"I'm going to kiss you now, okay?" Quinn whispered when their faces were mere inches apart.

No. This was going _way_ too slow for Rachel. Quinn's hesitation was frustrating her. "Why the hell are you even asking?" With that, Rachel pulled Quinn closer to her so their lips could finally meet.

The only thing that went through Rachel's mind was how worth the wait this kiss was.

_Ooh ooh he's talking crazy_

_Ooh ooh dancing with me_

_Ooh ooh we could get married_

_Have ten kids and teach them how to dream._

After the first kiss, they were literally inseparable the rest of the night. The two acted like teenage girls who were drunk for the first instead of alcohol, they were drunk off of happiness.

Quinn hadn't felt this light and happy in a long time. Even before she and Zoie had broken up she hadn't felt this way. This was magical.

After Santana interrupted their make out session by yelling at them to 'get a room' for the third time, they decided to do just that. Puck hailed a cab for them, and the two headed back to Quinn's flat.

"Are you sure about this?" Quinn asked her when they were catching their breath. They were in the taxi and halfway there. "I don't want you to think that you're just another conquest for me and that's all this has been. Because it's not."

"I know. I know it's not and that's why I want to."

They may not have said it, but Quinn could see the love in Rachel's eyes. She knew that should have scared her. They had barely known each other for 24 hours, and they only had 24 more. Yet if anything, it just made her more sure of what they were doing.

"Okay."

_Don't you see the starlight, starlight?_

_Don't you dream impossible things?_


	10. Treacherous

_Put your lips close to mine_

_As long as they don't touch_

_Out of focus, eye to eye_

'_Til the gravity's too much_

_And I'll do anything you say_

_If you say it with your hands_

_And I'd be smart to walk away_

_But you're quicksand._

Quinn woke up the next morning to Rachel snuggling in closer to her. She hadn't necessarily wanted to be awake this early, but this feeling of home that she felt with Rachel at that exact moment was worth it. She knew she shouldn't get used to it, but she found herself daydreaming about waking up like this every morning.

God, what she wouldn't give to have this every morning. To be able to wake up with Rachel in her arms, to develop a morning routine with her. Well, it would be practically perfect. Quinn would be up first, obviously, because she painted best early in the morning. When Rachel finally decided to wake up (because Quinn assumed that Rachel was one of those people that liked to sleep the day away), they would cook breakfast together so Quinn could gradually teach Rachel how to cook. Then they would fight over who gets to take a shower first, but Quinn would always let Rachel win. Which meant that Quinn would always be taking cold showers unless she opted to shower with Rachel, which was a good possibility.

They would often spend the day together, as Quinn would have a studio in her apartment. Rachel would work as an actress on West End, which was close enough to Broadway to hopefully count for her. The two of them would live happily ever after, going on double dates with Brittany and Santana, having dance-offs, and sneaking into fancy parties with Puck. Maybe even one day they would start a family and have kids.

It was a nice daydream, and it put Quinn back to sleep because she couldn't bear to get out of bed to face reality. Not yet.

Because once Quinn let herself get up, her mind would know it was the last day with Rachel.

_This slope is treacherous_

_This path is reckless_

_This slope is treacherous_

_And I, I, I like it._

Rachel almost had a panic attack when she woke up. Quinn was no longer there.

The thought passed through her mind that Quinn could have been lying last night; that Rachel really was just like all the other girls Quinn had slept with and left. She quickly dismissed this thought, because she knew Quinn was better than that.

When Rachel got out of bed and put some clothes on, she found Quinn in the kitchen making breakfast. The moment she heard Rachel walk in, Quinn looked up from her work and smiled at her.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Quinn commented. "Care for something to eat? I made your favorites."

"How do you know my favorites?" Rachel asked, stifling a yawn.

"Wikipedia," she replied. "I hope they're right. I know I said I wanted to learn everything from you, but I wanted to make your favorites for your birthday and I didn't want to wake you up to ask."

"Aw, that's so sweet. Even if it's not my favorite I'll pretend it is." Rachel honestly didn't think Quinn could get more perfect. Finn was nothing like this.

"You don't have to," Quinn said. "I mean, it's not like I ran to the store in the cold this morning to get fresh fruit and tofu or anything."

"Quinn, you didn't have to do that," Rachel said, walking over to the kitchen so she could kiss her.

"It's a good thing I didn't. I made Santana do that," she stated after kissing Rachel.

Rachel playfully hit her shoulder. "Jerk."

"I'm kidding! Santana's not near that nice. Plus she and Brittany stay in bed practically all day Sunday. In fact, we should probably clear out soon before they wake up."

"Where are we going today?" Rachel asked as Quinn set a plate of tofu scramble and fruit down on the counter. "Oh my god, wikipedia knows me."

Quinn laughed, grabbing another plate and going to sit down. "I thought I'd let you pick since it_ is_ your birthday."

"But how am I supposed to know what to do? It's not like I'm a native Londoner," she stated before taking a bite of her tofu scramble. "Fuck. This is good."

"Neither am I. And I think you're exaggerating just how good this is. I've never made it before," Quinn said, picking at her own food.

Rachel put down her fork and looked at Quinn in awe.

"What?"

"You mean to tell me that not only are you an excellent painter, dancer, and ice skater, but you're a natural cook? Nope. Unacceptable. The only person that perfect is Mary Poppins, and you're not her."

This got Quinn to smile before breaking out into song. "_Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down…_"

"Of course you can sing too. I mean why not?" Rachel threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Fine. I give up. You are a flawless person."

"I'm not perfect, Rachel," Quinn said. "I just put off the appearance of being perfect."

"Well you do a pretty good job of it," she replied, going back to eating.

Quinn shrugged. "It's part of being a Fabray. Everyone in my family is supposed to appear perfect when we're really not."

"My family embraces the fact that we're nowhere near perfect," Rachel added, thinking of her dads. It had been months since she had seen them last. There just never was enough time in her schedule between work and Finn for her to fly out to New York. Monday would be emotional, not only because she was seeing her dads, but also because she was leaving Quinn. She had mixed emotions about whether she should be looking forward to it. Right now she was just trying to focus on the present.

"Your family sounds nice."

"They are. I don't see them near enough."

"Same here," Quinn joked, getting Rachel to giggle. Quinn somehow always seemed to be able to make her laugh. She liked it.

"If my dads knew how horrible your family was to to you for being a lesbian, they probably would adopt you," Rachel stated. "My dads are known for taking in stray gays who run away to New York but don't have much of a plan after they get there."

"If they adopted me though, then I couldn't do this," Quinn said before moving in to kiss her. Rachel smiled into the kiss because she was so glad they _could_ do this.

"Shouldn't you two be somewhere else instead of snogging at the breakfast bar?" Santana said, interrupting their kiss before it could become more.

"Look who's awake," Quinn commented as she watched Santana walk into the kitchen. "It's not even noon."

"Don't even go there with me, Fabray. You know exactly why I'm up and it's only because I'm the damn nicest friend you've ever had and don't you forget it," Santana replied, fixing herself a plate of the tofu scramble. "What is this shit anyway?"

"Tofu scramble," Rachel answered before Quinn could reply. "Quinn made it for my birthday."

"Damn, Q, you never made me breakfast on my birthday," Santana said as she moved to sit next to Quinn.

"That's because you don't leave your room on your birthday."

"Breakfast in bed would be nice," she replied.

"Yeah, that's not happening."

Santana ignored her comment. "Though not this shit. I need a good English breakfast."

"You're not even English."

"I'm more English than your sorry ass."

"Oh I love you guys!" Brittany said, coming out of nowhere and wrapping the two into a hug from behind. When she let them go, she turned to Rachel. "Happy birthday, Rachel!"

"Thanks, Brittany," Rachel replied, once again brought back into the conversation of the roommates.

Santana and Quinn shared a look, which Rachel noticed, before Santana stood up. "Come on, B, we need to get our shower on."

Brittany pouted. "But I wanted to talk to Rachel about her birthday."

"No," Santana said. "Let them have their birthday sex in peace."

"We're not having birthday sex," Quinn stated before Santana could drag Brittany away.

"We did that last night," Rachel put in.

Brittany turned around and beamed at the both of them. "I knew it! I knew you two would get together! Didn't I, San?"

"You did," Santana confirmed. "Now we need to go or we'll never get done in time."

"Okay. See you guys later!"

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief.

"What?" Rachel asked, curious as to what exactly Quinn was so relieved about.

"Oh, it's just that normally Brittany asks for details of my sex life," she replied.

"Well. That's kind of odd."

"That's Brittany."

"Santana had a good idea though," Rachel stated, grinning at her.

"Nope," Quinn said, taking their plates to put in the sink.

"But what if that's how I want to spend my birthday?" It wasn't necessarily what Rachel wanted to do with her last day, but she sure as hell wouldn't mind it.

"We're not spending your entire birthday in bed," she confirmed.

"Entire?"

Quinn smiled. "I hoped you would catch that. Tonight?"

"Of course."

Rachel had no idea at the time that Quinn wouldn't make good on that promise. There was no way she could know that something disastrous, something that would throw them both for a loop, was coming her way. She was simply looking forward to spending her birthday with Quinn.

_I can't decide if it's a choice_

_Getting swept away_

_I hear the sound of my own voice_

_Asking you to stay._

"You could stay, you know. If you wanted to." They had been walking along down the street, discussing _The Phantom Of The Opera _which they had just finished watching (Quinn had surprised Rachel with tickets to the matinee performance), when Quinn found herself blurting that out.

Rachel stopped walking. "What?"

"Forget it, I didn't mean_— _I mean, I know you can't." Quinn stumbled over her words, trying to right her stupid mistake.

"Quinn, I want to." This got Quinn to look up from her shoes, a habit that only showed back up from her middle school days when she felt extremely embarrassed.

"You do?" There was something hopeful in her voice that made Quinn feel even more like she was back in middle school.

"Of course. There's nothing I want more than to be able to stay here and get to know you better," Rachel assured her. "But you know I can't."

Quinn tried not to look too disappointed. "Yeah, I know. You're the big superstar and you have to get back to your job."

"I do. I absolutely cannot stay right now. But maybe once my contract is up for my tv show. There's plenty of film work in London that I could get. Plus they say West End is easier to get on than Broadway."

"Are you serious?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been so convinced that Rachel was going to walk out of her life the next day that she hadn't even thought of the possibility that Rachel would try to stay.

"It's not set in stone or anything, but I really want to try with us, Quinn. I want there to be more to us than just this weekend." Rachel looked sincere, and Quinn felt like crying from the happiness she felt.

"Me too."

Despite being on a public street, Rachel pulled Quinn in for a passionate kiss. They weren't letting the off-chance of the paparazzi ruin their perfect moment. Quinn was finally happy with the way her life was heading.

The happiness didn't last, though. For when they got about half a block down the street, trouble found them.

"Quinn?" She felt her hand drop in shock from the figure that had suddenly appeared before them. It couldn't be. Not now.

"Zoie?"

_Your name has echoed through my mind_

_And I just think you should, think you should know_

_That nothing safe is worth the drive and I will_

_Follow you, follow you home_

_I'll follow you, follow you home._


	11. All Too Well

**Ch. 11- All Too Well**

_I walked through the door with you, the air was cold_

_But something about it felt like home somehow._

"Zoie?"

Rachel felt her heart stop. She looked over at Quinn, who appeared to be completely shocked from the girl that had appeared before them. Then Rachel turned to look at the girl that had completely shattered Quinn's heart.

Zoie and Rachel didn't really look alike; Rachel made this assumption right off the bat. Whereas Rachel thought of herself to be kind of plain, Zoie was supermodel material. Sure, they had the same hair color and eye color, and they were relatively the same height, but they looked nothing alike. Rachel felt completely inadequate when compared with this girl, and she wished Quinn had not let go of her hand the second they saw Zoie.

The girl's face lit up in recognition. She smiled. "It's been a while, Quinn."

"It has," Quinn agreed. Rachel looked over at Quinn, trying to assess how she felt about this sudden turn of events. Rachel knew that Quinn and Zoie hadn't crossed paths since they broke up. Yet Quinn's face remained emotionless.

"I've been meaning to call you," Zoie said, stepping closer to them.

"You have?" There it was. The faintest hint of emotion; of hope. Rachel felt like heart ache for Quinn as she heard the hope in her voice.

She nodded. "I have. I thought maybe we could try things again?"

"What?" both Rachel and Quinn said, almost simultaneously.

_And I know it's long gone_

_And that magic's not here no more_

_And I might be okay_

_But I'm not fine at all._

"I've been thinking that it's such a waste to throw away all that time together, Quinn," Zoie said. Quinn had never expected to hear these words again. She'd never even expected to see Zoie again. Yet there she was, saying those words, on the worst possible day. Quinn didn't know what to think. She could barely breathe.

"Oh," was all Quinn could find the words to say. This was what she had always wanted, right? Zoie coming back to her would fix everything. She would finally have her best friend back. Things could go back to the way they once were at the beginning of college. So why did she feel so conflicted?

"Unless you're with Rachel Berry like the papers are suggesting?" Zoie asked, looking between the two of them.

"Of course we're not together," Quinn said quickly. She knew it was what she was supposed to say, as Rachel still had a boyfriend in the eye of the media. Except when she glanced at Rachel, she saw a look of pain cross her face. Quinn's answer had hurt her.

"Yeah, we're not," she heard Rachel agree, but she couldn't focus on anything else but the hurt she had seen in her eyes.

"Good," Zoie said, smiling at the both of them. "I don't want your heart to be broken. Straight girls are always such heartbreakers."

If Quinn was in her right mind, she probably would've made some smart remark about how lesbians could also break hearts, but she wasn't. Quinn was lost in the haze that was Zoie. "Yeah."

"From what I've heard, though, it's Quinn who's quite the heartbreaker for straight girls," Rachel added, sounding a bit sharp. Quinn wanted to reprimand her for being mean to Zoie, but then she realized what she was thinking. Rachel was just defending her when she couldn't find the words to defend herself.

Zoie completely ignored Rachel's comment. "Quinn, do you know how long we've been friends?"

"Practically forever," Quinn found herself mumbling.

"Exactly. So when I think about it, I really don't want to give us up. I hate how we ended before. I mean, if we broke up we should've at least stayed friends, because we've always been friends."

"Yeah." Quinn knew exactly why they didn't stay friends, but she couldn't quite find the reasoning at the time.

"I just… I feel like I've been missing a part of me, and it wasn't until recently that I realized it's you."

Quinn felt like she had been stabbed in the heart. She glanced down just to make sure. Nope, it was just her emotions. "I miss you, Zoie."

"I miss you too, Quinn. So please, say we can try again?"

_And I know it's long gone_

_And there was nothing else I could do_

_And I forget about you long enough_

_To forget why I needed to._

Rachel felt like throwing up at the sound of those words.

There was no way Quinn would go back to her after everything Zoie had done to her. Yet Rachel could see that Quinn was considering it. It hurt her to think that Quinn, who had just said she wanted to try to make things work with Rachel, was now considering dropping everything to run back to a girl who had completely shattered her heart once before.

It made Rachel sick.

"I swear that this time I won't screw everything up," Rachel heard Zoie say. Rachel wanted to roll her eyes. If Finn had said something like that to her, she would have laughed at him. Sometimes people deserve second chances, but people like Zoie and Finn do not.

Which was why Rachel couldn't believe she was watching Quinn make a huge mistake.

"I don't know…" Quinn said, and Rachel wished she could help her. "You really fucked me up. I don't know if I can do it again."

Zoie sighed. "I miss my best friend. I miss talking to her, making messes in the kitchen with her, going on adventures in London with her. She has been such a huge part of my life for so long that I have literally been hurting without her. Everywhere I go, whether it's in London or Ohio, there's always some memory of us. I can't get away from them, and they are eating me alive." Rachel had to admit, Zoie did look sincere during this, and she almost felt a little sorry for the girl. Then Rachel remembered that this wasn't Quinn's fault, this was Zoie's. Zoie was the one who messed everything up, and even if Zoie was enduring all this pain that she said she was, Quinn was enduring even more. Quinn had to live with the memories _and_ the fact that Zoie cheated on her. She had to make the choice between hating Zoie for what she did or remembering her as the best friend she had loved for so long.

Rachel was hurting just thinking about all the emotions that had to be going through Quinn's mind at the time. She just hoped that Quinn would be able to make the right decision.

"Please don't do this," Quinn begged. Rachel could see that her resistance was barely there, hanging on by thread. "You have no idea what I've been through."

She practically ignored what Quinn had said. "Do you want to throw away years of friendship just because of some silly little fight?" Zoie asked, stepping even closer and taking Quinn's hand, the hand that Rachel had been holding only minutes before.

Zoie's question was what tipped the deciding point. Rachel watched Quinn's attitude change.

"You're the one who threw it away, Zoie," Quinn stated, dropping Zoie's hand. Rachel felt immensely proud of Quinn's decision. Then Quinn took Rachel's hand and started pulling her away. "Come on, Rachel."

The two got halfway down the block before they heard it. Rachel had been practically glowing from happiness for Quinn, and then this just had to ruin it.

"Please?" was the faint call of they heard from Zoie. To the normal person, it probably would have been a heartbreaking call, as you could tell that her voice was cracking from the emotion of it all. Rachel was just annoyed by it. Quinn, however, let go.

She turned back around to face Zoie, and Rachel could see the tears in Quinn's eyes. Quinn looked from Zoie and then back to Rachel.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel," Quinn whispered, and Rachel was still trying to comprehend what Quinn could possibly be sorry for when Quinn took off down the street and ran straight into Zoie's arms.

_Maybe we got lost in translation_

_Maybe I asked for too much_

_And maybe this thing was a masterpiece_

'_Till you tore it all up_

_Running scared, I was there_

_I remember it all too well._


	12. The Moment I Knew

**Ch. 12- The Moment I Knew**

_You should've been there_

_You should've burst through the door_

_With that 'baby I'm right here' smile_

_And it would've felt like_

_A million little shining stars had just aligned_

_And I would've been so happy._

Rachel was completely numb the entire walk back to Quinn's, whether from the cold or her shock, she couldn't tell.

She didn't even know why she was going back to Quinn's apartment. She could live without the clothes in her suitcase. Yet she knew a part of her hoped that Quinn would be waiting for her there, ready to reveal that it was just a joke. This wasn't the case.

When Rachel walked in the door, barely able to hold back tears, she was met with several shouts of, "Surprise!"

Rachel froze, knowing that she probably resembled a deer in the headlights. There were several people in the living room, some she had met the night before at the party, some she had never seen in her life. "What's going on?"

"It's your surprise birthday party, silly!" Brittany said, appearing out of the crowd and pulling Rachel into a hug.

"Where's Q?" Santana asked, never far behind Brittany. "This was all her idea."

It was too much. The fact that Quinn had planned a _surprise party_ for her and then left her to go off with Zoie. It completely overwhelmed her, and she soon felt the tears start.

"Why are you crying?" Brittany questioned, looking seriously confused. "Do you not like surprises?"

Rachel pushed past them, making her way to Quinn's bedroom, not wanting to cry in front of all these people.

_Now I just wanna be alone_

_But your close friends always seem to know_

_When there's something really wrong_

_So they follow me down the hall_

_And there in the bathroom_

_I try not to fall apart_

_And the sinking feeling starts._

"Rachel?" Santana knocked on the door, but Rachel barely heard it. She was hiding in the pillows, sobbing as she clutched Quinn's pillow. It smelled like her shampoo, and when this thought registered it just made her cry harder.

"Seriously, what the hell is wrong?" Santana called out. Rachel hoped she had remembered to lock the door. She didn't want to get kicked out onto the streets by Santana.

After a few minutes of silence, Rachel felt someone sit down on the bed. She secretly hoped it was Quinn, but she knew it wasn't.

"Hey," she heard Santana say softly. "I know I've been kind of mean to you and all, but I really think you're an okay person. So if you want to talk about your problems or whatever has got you crying, I can't guarantee I'll have any words of wisdom, but I'll listen and try not to make any bitchy comments."

"Can you just go away?" Rachel managed to get out between sobs. She knew that Santana was trying, but the fact was that Santana was Quinn's friend, not hers.

"No. Quinn isn't here, you're crying, and there's a flat full of people out there. I'm gonna need a bit of an explanation," Santana said, pulling the pillow away from Rachel.

"Zoie," Rachel said before burying her face into another pillow.

"What about Zoie? Quinn's over her now because of you, right?"

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Rachel could hear the frustration in Santana's voice.

Rachel wiped her eyes, and sat up, trying to regain her composure. "We ran into Zoie on the street. Apparently she wants to try again. Quinn went off with her. Happy?"

"Not fucking likely," Santana said. "Jesus Christ, I'm going to have to beat some sense into that girl. She should know better by now."

"I told you what's wrong, now will you please leave me to cry in peace?" Rachel begged. She needed to get this all out of her system before she left in the morning.

Santana sighed. "I really thought you were going to be good for her. She seemed so happy with you, even happier than she'd been with Zoie. I can't believe she threw it all away."

"I thought she was going to be different from everyone else," Rachel admitted.

"Guess we were both wrong," Santana replied. "Don't worry, stay in here for as long as you like. If Quinn comes home tonight, I'll make sure you don't see her before you leave in the morning. Unless you want to?"

"I don't. Thank you, Santana." With a sudden burst of spontaneity, Rachel hugged her.

"This is the one and only time that I will let you hug me," she stated before they broke apart.

"It's not like I'll have that many more chances."

Santana smiled sadly. "True."

_What do you say_

_When tears are streaming down your face_

_In front of everyone you know?_

_And what do you do_

_When the one who means the most to you_

_Is the one who didn't show?_

Rachel was coaxed out of the bedroom by her hunger. She had never been one to go without food for very long, and she and Quinn had been on the way to get dinner when they ran into Zoie. So around 10 at night, she was starving, and she hoped that the party had died down. She hadn't heard voices in a while, so she found that to be a good sign.

When she entered the kitchen, she found a ton of party food, mostly vegan she noted, and a huge birthday cake. She also found Santana, Brittany, and Puck scattered around the kitchen with beers, talking in hushed voices. Their conversation immediately broke off when Rachel entered the room.

"Are you okay, Rachel?" Brittany asked, looking concerned.

"Not really," Rachel replied, picking up a paper plate before she began to pile it with food.

"I'm sure Quinn will realize she made a mistake soon," Brittany stated after a minute of thought. "It never takes her long."

"I think it's already too late," Rachel said, sitting down at the bar beside Puck.

Brittany frowned. "That's sad. I like having you around."

"But Quinn doesn't, and that's who matters the most," Rachel replied.

"Quinn loves you!" Brittany protested.

"Brit," Santana interjected before Rachel could correct her. "I don't think now's the time."

"If now's not the time, then when is?" she asked. "Rachel will leave without hearing how much Quinn loves her, and that's not okay, San!"

Rachel sighed and abandoned her half-eaten plate. "I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Why don't we watch a movie?" Puck suggested before Rachel could leave. "I know Brittany has a pretty awesome Disney collection."

Rachel hesitated. She knew that if she went back into Quinn's bedroom she'd just end up crying herself to sleep. On the other hand, these were Quinn's friends, not hers, and they didn't deserve to have to put up with all of this.

"I'll let you pick," Brittany offered, smiling at Rachel.

"Just so you know, I've been dating Brittany for years and she's never let me pick the movie," Santana whispered to her. "I'd take this if I were you."

Rachel looked from Brittany's hopeful face to Santana's guarded expression to Puck's grin. Then she caved. "Do you have _Beauty and the Beast?_"

_And they're all standing around me singing_

"_Happy birthday to you"_

_But there was one thing missing_

_And that was the moment I knew._

Rachel fell asleep not even halfway through the movie, snuggled up to Santana, surprisingly. Brittany had refused to cuddle with Santana during the movie, stating that Rachel needed their full attention, and so put Rachel in between the two on the couch.

Puck had sat safely in the recliner, watching as Brittany once again got her way. This meant he also got a wonderful view when Rachel fell asleep and cuddled with Santana in her sleep. The fact that Santana tolerated it was a miracle, and he knew it. Santana didn't cuddle with anyone but Brittany, much less a random stranger. Yet there she was, looking only slightly annoyed at the girl holding onto her.

Puck's seating also meant he had a perfect view of the door when Quinn walked in near the very end of the movie. Both Brittany and Santana had fallen asleep by then as well, so he remained the only one awake to see her. He watched as she quietly crept into the room, hoping that she wouldn't get caught. Puck cleared his throat, and Quinn jumped.

"Holy shit, Puck," she said, and he shushed her, pointing toward the couch of sleeping girls piled on each other.

"I think we should take this into the bedroom," he said lowly, standing up to make sure Quinn complied.

"So I think I might have fucked up," Quinn stated when they entered the bedroom.

Puck normally would've laughed at this and said something like "No shit," but instead he looked at her seriously and said, "Yes, you have."

_You called me later_

_And said, "I'm sorry I didn't make it"_

_And I said, "I'm sorry too"_

_And that was the moment I knew._

* * *

**Woah. I'm in awe of the amount of responses to the big reveal of this story. I didn't know there were that many of you reading. **

**Um, sorry about that. It's Taylor Swift though. There have to be sad times when you're writing with Taylor Swift. Try not to hate Quinn too much.**


	13. The Last Time

**Ch. 13- The Last Time**

_Found myself at your door_

_Just like all those times before_

_I'm not sure how I got there_

_All roads they lead me here._

After leaving Rachel, Zoie and Quinn went out to dinner. Quinn was still in a sort of trance, unable to comprehend what was happening. This couldn't be real. Zoie would never come back.

Yet she had, and she was letting Quinn pay for dinner.

"So tell me, what have you been up to?" Zoie asked after they ordered.

"Working," Quinn replied. She didn't feel that she should bring up the fact that she had also been sleeping around with dozens of girls. That would make her seem unfaithful. It didn't occur to her that Zoie had already been unfaithful. The reappearance of her best friend caused a poisonous haze in her mind that completely destroyed her rationality.

"Oh me too. A museum in America just bought up a bunch of my photos, but that doesn't matter." She waved it off like that wasn't the huge deal Quinn knew it was. "I want to know the story behind how you ended up hanging around Rachel Berry."

Quinn felt a pang of guilt at the mention of Rachel. She had just left her there in the middle of London. Sure Rachel had lived there for a summer, but London was a big place, and Rachel could've gotten lost. She knew she should never have left her on her own. "She sat beside me on my flight back from LA," Quinn shrugged. "That's about it."

"That's all? Really?" Zoie pressed. "You didn't seduce her or anything?"

Quinn shook her head. "No. We shared an eleven hour flight and became friends."

"That's… Really unlike you."

"It's what happened." Quinn didn't want to talk about Rachel anymore. Every second she spent on the topic made her feel worse about what she did. Except Zoie didn't want to talk about anything else.

"Did you learn all of her secrets?" She hesitated for a second, and Zoie caught it. "You did! Spill, Q!" This was what happened when you grew up with someone. Quinn couldn't hide anything from Zoie no matter how hard she tried.

"I'm not going to tell you her secrets," Quinn stated. It was bad enough she abandoned Rachel, but she didn't also want to throw away her trust. With everything Quinn had heard about Rachel's life, she knew that if she betrayed her trust it would be the absolute worst thing she could do.

Zoie grinned at her, and Quinn knew what was coming. It was like they had never broken up. "Not even for a kiss?" Zoie leaned in, and Quinn let her, allowing herself to get lost in the first kiss from Zoie in months.

_And you open your eyes into mine_

_And everything feels better._

It's safe to say that Zoie and Quinn did not stick around for dessert after dinner. When Zoie could not get any of Rachel's secrets out of Quinn with one kiss, she resorted to more. The kisses led to more than kisses, and soon Quinn knew they needed to get back to Zoie's before they got asked to leave.

"Have you moved from our old flat?" Quinn asked as they walked out of the restaurant and Zoie automatically cuddled up to her.

"Mmhm," Zoie replied simply, not giving Quinn any hints at all as to which direction they should go in. Quinn felt a tinge of sadness knowing that their beautiful flat that had so many memories was gone.

"Well where is it?" she questioned.

"Can't we just go back to your place?"

Quinn thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "Santana would kill me, not to mention Rachel's there. Fuck!" That's when it hit her what she'd been planning. "Rachel's surprise party is tonight."

Zoie pulled her in for a deep kiss. "I'm sure she can manage without you," she whispered after they broke apart.

Quinn smiled at her. "I'm sure you're right."

"When am I not?" This caused Quinn to roll her eyes. It had been a constant joke throughout high school that Zoie was always right. It was nice to hear it again.

"Where are we going?" Quinn asked again.

"Just trust me, okay?" This was something Quinn had a bit of difficulty doing. It's always hard to regain a person's trust after you've destroyed it, and Zoie had fucked her over once before.

Quinn shrugged it off and let Zoie lead the way. It wasn't like she was asking Quinn to do something big that actually required trust. Quinn could handle this. She wanted to be with Zoie again.

Yet there was a part of her that wanted to be with Rachel, watching how she reacted to the surprise party. She didn't even know if Rachel liked surprises. She knew how Zoie would react; she absolutely hates surprises, and would've have walked out the door the second she realized it was a surprise party. What if Rachel was like that? And what if she wasn't? What if Rachel was one of those people who cried tears of joy whenever anyone surprised her? Quinn would never know, and she couldn't help but focus on this as Zoie led her back to her place.

Why did Zoie have to appear _now?_

_This is the last time I'm asking you this_

_Put my name at the top of your list_

_This is the last time I'm asking you why_

_You break my heart in the blink of an eye._

Quinn couldn't sleep. She had been trying for hours, and it just wasn't happening.

Her limbs were intertwined with Zoie's, and it felt like old times. Sometimes, before they broke up, Quinn couldn't sleep due to having an amazing idea for a painting, but she didn't want to get up to start it because she knew it would wake Zoie up. It was different now, because instead of a painting idea keeping her awake, it was the thought of Rachel.

She hoped Rachel would understand. Zoie needed her; she had always needed her. And Quinn had needed Zoie. Yet it didn't feel right anymore. She worried about Rachel, and whether she would ever see Rachel smile at her again. Had she ruined everything by doing this? And for what? Zoie _said_ she wanted to be together again, but would that really last? Quinn was having doubts now.

Slowly, Quinn started to untangle herself from Zoie. She needed to get to Rachel and make things right. This thing she was doing at the moment wasn't right. She would never be able to trust Zoie fully again, and she knew she couldn't be with someone who she didn't trust. If she was always scared of catching Zoie with another woman, she wouldn't be able to enjoy anything.

Before she could get up, Zoie stirred.

"Where are you going, babe?" she asked sleepily, only half awake.

"I can't do this," Quinn replied, turning on the bedside lamp so she could look for her clothes.

Zoie sat up. "Okay."

This got Quinn to turn around and stare at her. "That's really all you have to say? You want me to be with you again, and when I decide I can't, you just accept that?"

"Do you want me to fight for you, Quinn?" she teased. "Because that's not my style."

This wasn't something Zoie would do. Quinn knew that. Zoie wasn't one to accept defeat unless… "You never wanted to be with me again."

Zoie gave her half a smile. "You've always been so clever, Q."

Quinn didn't want to be right, but that confirmed it. It was like Zoie had ripped open the wound that Rachel had just started to mend. She tried her best to fight off the tears, because she couldn't stand crying in front of other people. "Why did you do this?"

Zoie shrugged. "I wanted to see if I could."

She shook her head. That was a lie. "You're not that much of an asshole, Z. Just tell me why you would want to hurt me again when I was finally finding happiness?"

She sighed. "Shit, Q."

"Why?"

"I needed to know information about Rachel Berry, okay?" she said angrily. "My photos haven't actually been selling, so I'm working for a fucking tabloid now. Happy?"

Quinn felt her heart sink. Just seconds ago she had been angry, but now there was nothing left in her but sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault that I'm a shit artist. I shouldn't have done this. I just thought she was some fling like all the others. I didn't know you were actually happy."

"Well, I was. And you're right, you shouldn't have done this. It's fucking stupid." Quinn pulled on her jeans.

"I know. I just… Have you seen where I'm living? I'm in the bad part of town." Quinn had noticed, but she had chosen to ignore it because at the time Zoie had been kissing her on that part of her neck that she loved. "A scoop on Rachel Berry, well… It might have gotten me out of here."

"You fucked up my life _again,_ Z."

"Don't make me feel worse about it!"

Quinn scowled at her. "If you so much as dare to print an article on Rachel…"

Zoie held up her hands in surrender. "No way. I won't. I'm done messing up your life."

Quinn slipped on her coat. "Good. Now I need to go try to fix this."

She was halfway out the door before Zoie called after her. "Quinn?"

Reluctantly, Quinn turned around. "What?"

"I really do want us to be friends again. Do you think we could try to do that?" she asked, looking hopeful.

Quinn thought about it for a minute. "Maybe one day."

"I'll take that for now."

_This is the last time you tell me I've got it wrong_

_This is the last time I say it's been you all along_

_This is the last time I let you in my door_

_This is the last time, I won't hurt you anymore._


End file.
